Wilted Flower
by mochaaa
Summary: Kyo and Tohru were best friends that were torn apart years later, causing trouble in Kyo's fragile heart. Lost in the pain, Kyo became an infamous bandit. Can a meeting with an old friend transform his tainted heart? AUversion KxT
1. The Shadow Bandits

**SUMMARY: Kyo and Tohru were childhood friends when they bonded at an orphanage together, but a few years later they were torn apart, causing anarchy in Kyo's heart. Lost in the pain, Kyo grew up to become part of a infamous group of bandits... Can a meeting with an old friend transform a tainted heart, pure? AU version. KxT**

**WILTED FLOWER**

**Chapter 1 - The Shadow Bandits**

The hair of the young boy resembled the color of a burning flame.

Even as a child, he had always been labeled as the "different" one, because his hair wasn't brown, or dusty blonde like the other kids. Since his hair was considered "strange," he had always been eschewed by all of the other children at the orphanage that he had been placed in, when he was about year old or so. After another day of being shunned and teased, the little boy would always run into the Kitsune, the head of the orphanage's arms, eyes soaked with tears, complaining sulkily about how the other kids had been teasing him about his hair color again. Then she would simply ruffle his soft silky flames, telling him in a harmonic voice,

"Don't listen to them Kyo. You're hair may be a bit different from the other kids, but that doesn't mean that they don't like you. They're just not... used to it. I accept the way you are... and surely there will be another child along the way that will learn to accept it too, I promise."

A smile would bloom on the child's lips at the kind lady's words and he'd stare up at her with his round, crimson eyes, asking, "Really? When?" Kitsune smiled, showing a small dimple on her left cheek, reassuring him lightly,

"Soon, dear. Now go run along and play with the others."

Kyo nodded furiously, bounding outside with this bursting sensation of newfound hope. His feet scraped against the gravelly pavement of the yard as he raced to where the other kids were playing, but instead of seeing all of the little boys and girls running around like maniacs in the yard, they were all huddled around in a small circle, murmuring all at once. Kyo strided over to the group, trying to see what they were all crowding around, because as a kid, curiosity always got the best of you. He stood on his tiptoes and finally saw over the sea of heads, a petite girl with bony arms and wary eyes, along with coffee brown hair that touched the tip of her chin, who was standing awkwardly at the center of this circle of children.

Kitsune saw all of the hubbub that was taking place outside, so she ran outside to rescue the small girl that had was the newest advent into the orphanage. She thought that since the kids were probably starving for a new face, they had merely gotten overly excited, so she did not blame them for nearly trampling over the new girl like a celebrity. She slid her way through all of the small ones, finally reaching the middle of the crowd. Once they all saw the tall woman towering over them, the talking ceased immediately. They all took a few steps back, in unison, to give them both room. Kitsune looked around at every single one of the kids, giving them all her warmest smile,

"Kids, I know that you are all very excited to meet a newcomer, but there is absolutely no need to overwhelm the poor child. So please welcome Honda Tohru with kindness, and _please_ make her feel at home..."

With that, she locked eyes with all of the kids, holding a secret agreement with each and every one of them, before walking back inside, leaving all of the kids to blatantly stare at the new girl. She looked down at her dirty shoes and stuttered out a few first words, "U-Um... my name is Tohru, what are yours?" The playground suddenly erupted with all sorts of different names, ranging from Akira, to Yumi. Tohru laughed along with the others as her voice got drowned out in the other children's conversations. When they asked her to play with them, she quickly aquiesced to their offer, playing along with their game of hide and seek.

No one even noticed the boy with the flaming orange hair, standing under the shadow of the huge tree located in the corner of the playground, a tear hanging down from the bottom of his eye as he watched all of the kids give the new girl, Tohru, all of their attention. Kyo felt his knees give up as he fell to the ground, crying his fragile heart out, feeling more alone than ever before. After a long minute of a good cry, he raised his head up slowly to see a pair of huge brown eyes staring down at him with concern filing them.

"Are you allright?"

A few boys and girls paraded up beside her, chanting out,

"Don't worry about him Tohru-chan!"

"He's a loser!" another voice added in,

"And an oddball!" piped in another little child triumphantly.

Kyo shuddered under his breath and turned away from the new girl's eyes, not wanting to break out into another fit of tears again. Tohru bent down in front of him, picking up a wilted flower from the ground, handing it to the boy, "I don't remember seeing you. My name is Honda Tohru." The boy looked into her soft brown eyes, quite amazed by this simple gesture, since he had never been shown kindness being willngly given to him by another peer. He slowly took the dry flower from the little girl's warm hands, hiccuping out, "M-My name is Sohma Kyo..." Tohru's eyes traveled upward to his hair and her mouth opened up in a gape, "Wow... I've never seen hair like yours before!" Kyo dropped the flower quickly, his hands flying up to his head, as a defensive habit. Tohru giggled at his reaction to her comment and shook her head with a grin, "No, no, I'm sorry, I didn't mean it in a bad way. I just meant to say that I like your hair."

"Tohru-chan! Don't talk to him! You might catch something,"

said one of the callous little boys of the orphanage. Kyo could feel the tears coming back, but instead of crying, he tightened his fists together, standing up, and yelling at the top of his lungs, "Shut up!" Tohru stood up slowly, standing slightly behind Kyo. The other boys and girls grabbed Tohru by the hand, tugging her to the direction away from Kyo, "C'mon, come play with us. Kyo is not like us. He's... _different."_ Tohru did not follow though, she just stood limply in her spot, not going along with the other's pulls and tugs. She simply shook her head with a gentle smile and told them, "I'm sorry, but I just feel like sitting here right now. Is that okay?" They dropped her arms like logs and stuck out their tongues at the both of them, "You both stink!" called out one of the boys, as he ran off with the other ones.

Kyo gulped and said meekly under his breath, "You didn't have to sit here with me. Now they all probably hate you too." Tohru hugged her knees to her chest and rocked back and forth a little, replying back with a small voice, "I don't believe that they hate me... and I'd rather sit here than play with them." Kyo felt his eyes open up real wide as he asked her with an icredulous voice, "Really?!"

_"Surely there will be another child along the way that will learn to accept it too..."_

Kitsune's voice seeped into his mind and he smiled at her words, finally beginning to believe in them. Had he finally found someone that accepted him, no matter the color of his hair?

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Ever since that day of generosity he had been offered, the two of them became fast friends, always together talking, laughing, eating; everything. For the first time since Kyo had stepped into this orphanage, he finally felt _welcomed_ and cared for. It was a wonderful feeling that filled his heart. Knowing Honda Tohru was the best thing that had happened to him in his entire existence.

But when a wondrous thing like friendship is broken, the outcome is much more painful than a deep stab in the heart, and that's exactly how it felt like when Tohru was adopted by an old widow five years later.

The ten year old boy sat alone by the big tree in the corner of the yard, watching Tohru hug the new parent that she had just received, feeling scalding pains scar his very soul. He looked away very rapidly when he saw Tohru's pained eyes look his way. She then tore herself away from the wrinkling widow and shuffled over to Kyo, greeting him timidly,

"Hey."

Kyo's hands shook uncontrollably at his sides while he continued to remain quiet, his lower lip quaking. Tohru looked down at her dull gray shoelaces and her eyes softened when she spotted something on the ground. She squatted down for a second, and when she came back up, she had another wilted flower in her petite hand. She held it up to Kyo with the same gentle smile that she had given him five years ago.

"I want you to know that... I'll never forget you, and that I'll miss you a lot. We've been best friends for five years! And... I want you to take this, so you won't forget me either."

Kyo didn't move an inch as he glanced up at her milky white face, seeing that her lower lip was trembling as well, and her chocolate eyes were glittering with fresh tears that had just sprung up. He tried to say something, but no voice came up, his nerves were fried and his voice had died out on him at that very moment. Tohru then leaned in, giving him a warm embrace, gripping the wilted flower in her right hand. When she let go, he felt a coldness rush into his body and he saw a single tear slide down her cheek as she dropped the wilting flower, crying and calling out,

"Goodbye Kyo! I hope to see you again!"

His whole face was blank as he watched her step into the rusting black car of the widow, and oh, how much he wanted to cry out her name, but it was no use, because he had lost the will to speak out to her. To tell her how much she meant to him. His face was still as expressionless as before, until the car zoomed out of sight, and her small face disappeared from the glass window of the car. That's when his entire face just crumpled. He fell down into the grass, and just lay there, crying and crying and crying, until his eyes hurt from all of the tears that poured out. After his whole body shook from the pain, he just lay in the swaying grass, letting the sun bathe him in its strong rays of warmth, but nothing could make the tears stop from flowing. Nothing. His tremoring hand reached out for the wilting, and dried up flower that lay beside him. He then picked it up nimbly between his forefinger and his thumb, staring at it for a long time. He then shut his eyes, wishing for the pain to wash away.

When Kyo woke up, he found himself lying in a comfy bed underneath a layer of familiar blankets. He snapped up, looking around to see that he was back in his little cot at the orphanage, and the moon was shining outside of his window. Night had already fallen while he had dozed off a few hours before. He looked down at his hand and felt as if something was missing from them. Then it hit him. The flower.

He threw off his covers and raced outside with no shoes, feeling the coldness of the air engulf him as he found himself crying again while looking frantically around for the little wilted flower.

_Where is it? Where is it? Where is it?!!_

He grasped bunches of grass out of their roots and dug his fingernails into the soft dirt as he howled out with anguish. The wind had probably carried the flower away with it into some unknown place. His cries echoed throughout the entire orphanage, causing Kitsune and the other kids to rush outside and see Kyo howling with horrifyingly loud sobs on his knees in the grass. Kitsune gasped and rushed to his side, grabbing hold of Kyo's delicate shoulders, pulling him into a warm embrace, trying hard to soothe the boy's pain away, but it didn't work. Nothing would. He only howled louder, forcefully pushing her comfort away from him and running away. Running and running, until he was so far away from Kitsune, far away from the children, far away from the orphanage; far away from the_ pain_. His legs were sore and his lungs felt like they had inflated while he leaned up against a cool brick wall, feeling sick and nauseous all at the same time. He felt dizzy while staggering along the blackening road, his vision beginning to blur as he leaned his head to the side and feeling his heavy body fall to the cold pavement near a line of green shrubbery.

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"Hello? You awake?"

"Hnh?"

Kyo opened up his eyes very slowly and blinked about three times in celerity, not recognizing this deep voice. He looked around to his side, and saw a shadow of a very slender person with long flowing hair, but that was about all the detail he could see since the room was so badly lighted.

"Hey, hey, I said, are you awake?"

Kyo felt his heart pounding in his chest as he thought to himself while breaking a cold sweat,

_Who is this person? _

Kyo finally answered with uncertainty, "... Yea. I'm awake." The shadow's hand moved to the wall, and he flicked open a dim light that shined from the ceiling so that Kyo could finally see the features of this man, and he found that he didn't seem to recognize him at all.

"You look dazed."

Kyo shut his eyes, wondering if he had passed out that night.

"Had a rough night?"

Kyo looked at the man with the elegant white hair and sharp green eyes, nodding slowly, when he began to reminisce on all of the events that had happened tonight, before he appeared here. Kyo croaked out,

"Who are you?"

The man laughed loudly and histrionically before standing up with his hands glued firmly to his hourglass hips, his shining green eyes twinkling brightly, "I am... the great King Ayame!! But you can just call me Ultra wonderful Ayame-sama." He put on a big silly grin on his face as he pointed to himself with the tip of his thumb, laughing louder than before. He then plopped back down onto the stool next to the bed, while Kyo watched as this eccentric man stared at him with this confident smirk pasted on his face, asking,

"And what is your name, boy?"

"Kyo... Sohma Kyo."

"And what is a small kid like you lying around in the streets for?"

The man's eyes widened and he pointed a thin finger all the way up in the air before shoving his finger inches away from Kyo's little face,

"Don't tell me that the police were after you because you were _stealing!!_ Or were you on the run because some rabid dogs were after you? Or _maybe_ you collapsed because you merely tripped on the curb. Hmmm? Am I right? Am I?"

Kyo's eyes were round and wide as he watched this man ramble on and on about reasons why he was passed out on the street, before _he_ could even utter out the realreason. Kyo somehow couldn't help but grin at this man's hyperactive reactions though, after all, at least he wasn't dead somewhere on the streets, thanks to this odd man. Kyo leaned back against the graying walls of the small room, replying back with a low voice, "No... none of those are true. I was just running... away from my orphanage because... because...you know what? I don't have to explain."

"Orphanage?"

"Yea..."

The man leaned in closer to the boy and examined his scratched up, dirt covered face, then Kyo saw a slow smile spread on the man's thin lips, "So... have you ever heard of the Shadow Bandits?" Kyo's eyebrows knitted together and he shook his head, "Nope. Never heard of them." A loud gasp escaped Ayame's mouth while he dramatically put the back of his hand over his forehead, his eyes wide in shock, "That can't be!" The man quickly recovered from this and then grinned with a perfect set of sparkling teeth, "Well, Kyonkichi, it's time for you to get to know a little bit about us Shadow Bandits!" Kyo shot up from his spot and looked at Ayame dubiously, "Wait, are you saying that you're a... _bandit_?!" Before Ayame could open up his mouth to answer, the door creaked open, two more men entering,

"What is all this racket Ayame?"

complained one of the men who was wearing a pale green kimono, rubbing his eyes with a giant yawn.

"Ayame... who is this?"

asked another man who had a very calm tone to his voice and jet black hair that was partly long on the left side, so that his bangs shadowed his left eye. Ayame laughed loudly again, placing his hand over his heart, ready to introduce the new boy, "This is... Sohma Kyo! Wow, doesn't that name just have a great ring to it?"

"What is he doing here?"

The man in the green kimono asked while walking up to Kyo, examining him. Shigure snorted out a laugh as he pointed at his bright hair, "All I gotta say is that he sure has funny hair!" Kyo blushed furiously, covering up his hair with his hands. The tranquil man crossed his arms over his chest, glancing over at the boy for a second before looking back at Ayame sternly, "So answer me, what is he doing here?"

Ayame crossed his legs over one another like a lady on the stool, and then informed him with an overly exaggerated voice, "Well I originally found him on the streets, and I could _never_ leave a small boy like this to die out in the harsh world! And now I've found out that he's an orphan boy! So we _can't _just leave this poor boy alone now can we? _PLUS_ did I mention that he could make a great addition to our team. Right boy? Right, right?" Ayame looked at Kyo expectantly with his bright green eyes, with one eyebrow raised. Kyo looked around at all the eyes that were boring into his skin, and began to sweat a little, wondering what to say to these men.

_If you say no... they might do something bad to you. After all, they **are** bandits right? But ... they seem harmless...and... I have nowhere else to go._

Kyo remembered the orphanage again and then he looked up at Ayame with burning eyes, yelling out bravely, "I want to be a bandit!"

**REVIEWS PLEEEASSEE. :D and I hoped you enjoyed this chapter. :D THANKS !!!**


	2. Crashing Into Fate

**Thanks for the reviews :D Love ya. :D and enjoy the next chappie **

**A WILTED FLOWER**

**Chapter 2 - Crashing into Fate **

About six more years had passed by ever since the day that Kyo had left the orphanage. It was now November 15th and Kyo had recently just turned seventeen, reaching the stage right before manhood. He wasn't really living out the dream of a normal person exactly, but, nonetheless, he was content with the way things were. He wasn't anything quite as successful, like a lawyer, or a businessman, not even close. Instead, he had become a full time, infamous bandit. A Shadow Bandit, to be more exact.

The Shadow Bandits were those kinds of people that were usually found in the newspapers, or on the media, and they were always on the run. They moved around quite a lot, fearing that they'd be caught by someone of higher authority, but that hadn't happened just yet. The team was made up of six members; Hotori, the leader of the bandits, Ayame, Shigure, Momiji, Haru, and Kyo. Kyo had been the fourth proud member of the group, and he'd been with these bandits since age ten, and had worked very hard to become a respected member of their gang. They were pretty much his family, excluding the whole father mother thing, but they were all like siblings to him. They would fight and curse at each other on daily intervals, but mo matter what, they always looked out for one another, just like brothers did.

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Kyo lay on the dewy blades of grass outside, staring up at the clouds that moved gradually across the clear blue sky, bored out of his mind. That's when a shadow loomed over Kyo, darkening his view, and causing Kyo to turn his head up to see Haru standing above him.

"You're in my way,"

said Kyo tiredly while tilting his head to the left, trying to get Haru to move out of the way, but he didn't even make an effort to move an inch. All he did was stand there with the same sullen expression and stated,

"We need more food."

Kyo sighed and gave up on the peaceful view, sitting up, and pushing a hand through his feathery hair. He rolled his eyes and asked with annoyance, "So what do you want me to do about it?" Haru answered by throwing a small brown pouch in Kyo's direction, and Kyo caught the small pouch with one hand, shaking it lightly, hearing the light tinkle of coins crash against each other. He raised an eyebrow at Haru and asked sarcastically with a bored expression, "So let me guess, you want me to go buy some?" Haru crossed his arms over his chest and smirked, "Exactly." Kyo threw the little bag up and down in the palm of his hand, not in the mood of putting up a fight over this, after all he _had_ been bored, so why not just do this one little errand? He shrugged and then got up from the ground, letting out a huge yawn before growling out, "Fine," before placing the money into his deep pockets, walking off into the city of Kyoto.

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_And I thought the criminal life would be less... dull._

Kyo was dragging his feet out of the grocery store, holding packs and packs of ramen in the two plastic bags that he held sloppily in the crevice of his fingers. He yawned overtly while strolling casually around a street corner, thinking about what the gang was going to do tonight, it had to be more exciting than grocery shopping.

He was so lost in thought, thinking about what he was going to do tonight, that he didn't even notice when he collided right into a person that was rounding the same corner as him. He saw apples, oranges, and all kinds of fruit fly into the air all of the sudden, and he stumbled back an inch, looking down at the person he had just crashed right into. He saw that it was a thin pale girl with long, silky brown hair, that rested just below her shoulders, and she was grimacing in pain, while dusting herself off. Kyo didn't even move an inch while he watched her stand up carefully and stoop down a few times to pick up each and every fruit up from the pavement. When she finally finished placing all of the fruits into her plastic bags, she bit her lower lip and looked up at him earnestly,

"I'm so sorry for bumping into you! I should have been looking where I was going. I mean I guess I was so lost in thought or something, or I was probably looking down at the ground too much! I feel so stupid for not noticing you there, and I'm just terribly sorry...Oh gosh, I'm such a klutz...so sorry."

The girl was doing some definite babbling, and that's why Kyo had let an amusing grin slip onto his face, watching the girl rush on about how sorry she was. When she finally wrapped up her seemingly long and odd apology, she peered up at his face to see what he would say next. He gave her a strange look and then shrugged with an eye roll, waving it off and answering nonchalantly, "Whatever." Kyo brushed right past her and was about to walk away, but the sound of her voice made him turn back around,

"Wait a minute!"

He saw the girl racing up to him with the grocery bags bouncing up and down in her hands, rustling loudly. She stopped in front of him, her hand over her heart while she stared up at his hair for a long moment, making him begin to feel a bit uneasy,

"What the hell are you looking at?"

he asked rudely, starting to get somewhat flustered from her staring problem. She blushed and then whispered out unconsciously, "Your hair..."

"Excuse me?!"

Kyo yelled out incredulously, causing Tohru to snap out of her trance, making her blush to a dark crimson shade that was unknown to mankind, beginning another flow of apologies, "I'm so so sorry! I-I was just so amazed by your haircolor and and umm...it reminded me of someone else's hair that I used to know. Oh gosh, forget about this. I-I'm so sorry. So very sorry!" She bowed her head down curtiously and was about to run off in the opposite direction, but this time he was the one that stopped her. He pulled her by her frail wrist and she twisted back around so that she was face to face with him, her heart pounding in her chest. Her eyes melded within his and he searched them for a while, asking in a less harsh tone than before,

"What is... your name?"

Her eyes widened at this sudden question, and she stuttered out softly, "Tohru... Honda Tohru." He dropped her wrist immediately and could not believe his eyes. Was this a dream? It couldn't be. He felt a chill run through his body and he wasn't sure what to say next, but all he knew was that he _couldn't_ let her know the truth about him. He had to face it, he wasn't the same innocent boy that she used to know. He was branded as a criminal now. The bad guy. There was no way that he could let her know that. No way.

He gulped and turned away from her, unable to look at her anymore. She was surprised at this action and then she asked him very quietly, "May I ask of your name?" Kyo shook his head very slowly and replied back in a rasping voice, "You... don't want to know my name. You don't want to know _me_... so let this be our last meeting." Once the words tumbled out from his mouth, he dashed off into the distance, racing away, just like the first time he had run away from the orphanage.

It seemed that this was the only solution to his problems. Running.

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The whole gang was sitting down on the floor, playing cards and drinking with satisfaction, until they heard the loud bang of the door strike loudly against the wooden walls, causing all of their heads to snap up in unison. Kyo stormed in, throwing the bags of noodles onto the floor.

"What's up with you?"

asked Shigure while taking a swig from the sake they had pilfered from a liquor store the night before. Kyo snapped back angrily, "None of your business!"

"Geez... talk about attitude!"

said Shigure in a mock hurt voice.

Momiji smiled brightly at Kyo and placed his cards down, bouncing over to Kyo, "Kyo-kun, what did you get for us? Candy?!" Kyo sighed and opened up the bag that was laying down on the floor, revealing the packs and packs of instant noodles. Momiji cheered with his fists pumped up in the air while he rummmaged through the noodles, nearly drooling, "I can't wait to eat these! I _love_ beef!!" The yellow haired boy waved the package of beef noodles in the air, extremely ecstatic over the fact that there was now beef entering their lives. Hotori rolled his eyes at the boy's love for beef and set down a winning card, causing the rest of the gang to groan while slapping their cards onto the ground in failure. Hotori looked up at the rest of them with his intense eyes, "Allright people, now that we're all together, we've got a job to do tonight." Kyo stretched his arms over his head and muttered out, "Finally. I was so damn bored today."

_And I need to get my mind off other things..._

"So what's the next mission, captain Hotori?" asked Ayame, while saluting resolutely at him. Hotori just shook his head and said with a deadpan voice, "What did I say about not calling me captain Hotori?" "Sorry! It won't happen again, cap--I mean, Hotori-san!" Hotori continued on, "Well, we're going to do a bit of raiding tonight, because money is pretty much running low right now. Ayame, Shigure, and I saw this decent looking house out on the road today, and we're thinking that they've got to have some good money hiding around in there somewhere. So what do you guys say?" He looked around the room to see smiles spreading across their faces. Kyo shrugged and leaned against a wall, cooly answering, "I'm in." The rest nodded and agreed to this, all hungry for some action.

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The long hand and the short hand of the clock struck twelve together, signaling that a new day had just begun. Midnight dawned over the city and the whole gang was loitering around outside the modern house they were about to steal from, all dressed in black, gloves and everything. Haru nodded and signaled for Shigure to hide somewhere at the front of the house on lookout. Momiji and Kyo then carefully and quietly climbed up the side of the house in ease, almost like ninjas. Kyo slid the window open silently and pushed it open very slowly while Momiji crawled in like a shadow, not making a single noise. Kyo signaled down to Hotori that Momiji was in, and Hotori nodded back. Kyo slipped in right after Momiji, closing the window again, checking around the room that they had stepped into. The room was completely obscure, so Kyo blinked rapildy, letting his eyes adjust to the darkness to see that the bed was made, but there was no one in it, thankfully. Kyo opened up the polished drawers, rummaging through the clothing that were neatly folded inside. Nothing. He bent down and went on to the next drawer, finding a small bag, then he proceeded by opening it up to see wads of money popping out from the top. He smirked and placed it into his own black bag, creeping along to the next room. After checking out most of the house, Kyo ended up with a few valuable things that were safely tucked inside his bag. When he saw Momiji in the shadows, Kyo nodded at him and they both went back into the room that they had first entere. Momiji slipped out first, just as quietly as before and just as Kyo's hands were touching the cold panes of the window, he heard a small gasp that sounded almost like a hiccup come out from behind him. He didn't even look back to see who was there, he just jumped out of the window, scrambling all the way back to the car where the rest of them sped off into the distance, in a panicky rush.

Tohru raced up to the window where the man had just been perched upon, poking her head out the window to see the smoke of the car fumes vanish and diffuse into the air. She felt her whole body begin to shake when she surveyed her ransacked room. Clothes were strewn all over the floor and all her drawers were hanging open. She sat very still onto the edge of her bed, chewing on her lower lip, unsure of what to do next and what she was going to tell her "parents" when they got home. She looked back at the window, hoping for something good to happen, and that's when a shiny string on the edge of her window pane, caught her eye. She went over to the window and picked it up, holding the string against the moonlight, seeing clearly now that it was not a string, but a short strand of hair that had most likely flown off of that man. The strangest thing was... the strand was bright orange. __

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Kyo leaned against the headrest of the passenger seat and exhaled out a long breath, muttering out, "That was too close..."

Ayame concentrated on the road, and stopped short in front of the cabin, gripping the wheel so hard that his pale knuckles were whiter than snow.

"Well, I'm sure whoever this person was, didn't see anything. I mean what was there to see anyway? Not like you turned around or something,"

said Haru with his arms folded across his chest. Shigure nodded in agreement and then he pointed greedily at their bags while they all stumbled out of the car, asking, "So, let's see the goodies already!"

Once they were all back inside the cabin, they flicked on the light switch and poured out the contents of both bags onto the floorboards with huge greedy grins plastered on their faces. Golden necklaces, coins, bills, bracelets, and diamond earrings slid out of the two bags. Momiji laughed out loud and dove his hands into the mountain of goods, scooping up the treasures into his small hands and throwing them into the air like confetti, while cheering out, "Yahoo!!! We're rich!" Everyone watched as the little boy nearly rolled around in the valuables, not showing their happiness quite as overtly as Momiji was, but they all had smiles on their faces.

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"Eh?!!!! You were _robbed?!!!_"

Uo slammed her hands flat down onto Tohru's desk, causing it to rumble, and Tohru to cringe backwards. Hana placed a hand, that was polished with black nail polish, onto Tohru's shoulder stating plainly,  
  
"I will personally kill whoever has done this." Tohru laughed nervously at the both of them and reassured them,

"I-It's nothing big! I didn't get hurt or anything... um... we'll just get things replaced, not too much was taken. So please don't worry."

Uo huffed and sat down in her seat noisily, muttering out, "Dammit... I bet it was those damn Shadow Bandits..."

"Yes... we must find them and personally kill them."

"U-Um... please, no violence involved Hana-chan!" Tohru sighed and looked at her concerned best friends that were grumbling under their breaths about how this could possibly happen. Tohru turned to face the window, resting her chin in the palm of her hand.

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After school Tohru waved goodbye to Uo and Hana, calling out over her shoulder, "Bye guys! I'll see you two tomorrow!" They both waved back joyously and then turned their backs to her, walking in different directions while Tohru walked off by herself. Tonight was the first night of her new job at this cleaning place she had recently been hired at, and she was going to work her hardest to earn back the money that was stolen from the house the other night.

Tohru entered the building and changed into her cotton blue uniform, tugging at her collar, and tying the white bandana tightly over her head, pumping her fists way up into the air, "Allright! I'm ready!" Tohru's lips were drawn together and her eyes had a sparkling glint of determination burning deep inside of the. The other two cleaning ladies admired this young girl's burning determination to work and smiled. Tohru tightened her fists together and proceeded with her first task, taking out the garbage. Tohru raced around the building, picking up garbage here and there, and then ran furiously back and forth with either a mop or a broom. She worked long, sweating hours of doing the same routine over and over in different rooms, and by midnight, her arms were sore, and her legs were screaming for rest, but she couldn't just yet, since she still had to journey her way back home. Tohru staggered out to the exit, waving as energetically as possible to her two helpers, "Bye! See you tomorrow!" The two women waved back and smiled at Tohru, calling out, "Bye Tohru. It was really a pleasure to have had you here, you were a wonderful help." Tohru smiled at them one last time before leaving the building, letting the cool breeze whip her hair across her face. She couldn't wait to get home, and take a quick hot shower, and then go to bed, she was dead tired. The street lights flickered above Tohru and she shivered a little, hoping that there would be no danger coming along the way. She was rubbing her hands together for warmth when she saw something that made her come to a stop while passing by the local park. It was the same boy with the golden orange hair that she had accidentally bumped into before earlier that morning, except now he was laying on the slides with his arms resting behind his head.

Tohru steeled herself up, and then walked right into the park, heading straight towards him, thinking to herself,

_I have to find out... if it's him. I just have to!_

She stood below the slide, looking up at him expectantly, and then she finally said, "Um... hey." Kyo's eyes flicked open and he looked down to see where the voice originated from. When he saw who the voice belonged to, he felt his heart stop beating and his throat get itchy, but the symptoms quickly vanished in a few seconds, and he muttered back in a tired voice,

"Hey..."

Tohru looked away a bit and then asked tentatively, "Is it allright if I sit here with you?" Kyo shrugged and hopped off of the slide, startling her. He stared at her with his piercing maroon eyes for a couple of seconds before grumbling out coldly, "Fine with me, I was just leaving anyway." Tohru could feel the hot tears filtering into her eyes as she cried out uncontrollably, "Kyo-kun!" Kyo stopped when he heard his own name coming out from _her_ mouth, unable to take another step. He slowly turned around 180 degrees and saw her eyes glistening with wet tears, making him look down at the pavement in shame. Tohru stepped closer to him and whispered out strongly, "It _is _you, isn't it?"

Kyo shuddered and then whirled around, muttering out,

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Tohru sniffed and pulled her jacket tightly against her, determined to know the truth. She paused for a moment and then asked quietly, "So you're names not Kyo?" Kyo could feel his tongue lose all of its moisture and his throat start to burn when he realized that he had no clue of what to do or say next, so he decided to just stay silent, letting the cricket's chirps fill air. Tohru looked away from his back and then whispered out with a hurt tone, "Please... please answer me."

Kyo felt his fingernails dig deep into the palms of his hand and he turned back to face her again with a glare, wallowing out, "Why do you care so damn much about me anyway?! Not like I'm that freakin' important!" Tohru could feel a miniscule smile cross her lips as she inquired softly, "So it really _is_ you..." Kyo made a face when he realized that he had just slipped. Tohru shook her head soflty and felt the tears spilling out from beneath her eyes as she croaked out, "I can't beleive that I'm actually seeing you again, it seems like it's an illusion, but it's not. It's really _you..._" She then looked up into his glowing eyes, admitting with sincerity touching her voice, "I missed you so much..." Kyo stared down at his scuffed up sneakers for a long time, wanting to say 'Me too,' but no words came forth. She didn't seem to be put down by his lack of words though, because her eyes had gained sudden new light that sparked beneath the surface of them as she asked excitedly, "So do you live around here?" Kyo frowned and looked away from her jubilant stare, hesitantly answering, "I guess you could say that." Tohru didn't get the hint of his awkward answer and pressed on, "So, what school do you go to?" His cinnamon eyes grew darker and he stuffed his hands into his pants pockets, replying tersely, "I don't go to school." Tohru sucked in a breath and then answered back simply, "Oh...." She thought for a while, then continued to question him, trying to be as casual as possible, "Um....so what have you been doing lately?"

_I've been stealing other people's belongings...I'm a friggin **bandit!** A **thief**! A damn **criminal!**_

Kyo could feel all the emotions swarming around in his stomach, and he finally just let his anger fly out of him while he yelled out harshly at her, "Would you stop with the damn interrogation already?!!" Tohru gulped and grimaced, taking a step back from him, whispering out, "I'm sorry..." Kyo squeezed his eyes shut, regretting every last word that had just fumbled out from his tongue.

_Dammit... _

He placed a cold hand onto his burning forehead, taking a long deep breath as he told her quietly, "No, _I'm_ sorry... you know what? I'm just gonna go now. Later." Tohru opened her mouth, but relinquished the thoughts of everything being the same between them again. She just shut her mouth and then cast her eyes downward, nodding morosely at him, and then she squeaked out a small, "Bye..."

Tohru took a deep breath of the freezing air, watching him walk away, hoping desperately that he would turn back to her and tell her how much he had missed her and how much he longed to talk to her again; but he didn't turn around. He just kept walking off in the other opposite direction, very gradually. She bit her lower lip and could almost feel it bleeding, but she ignored the pain in her lip because the aching in her heart hurt far worse than the physical pain. She let out a long exhale of foggy breath and then turned her heel, walking down a lonesome road by herself. After what seemed like a minute or so of walking, she froze in alarm when she heard pounding footsteps race up behind her, causing her to rapidly turn around and see Kyo skid to a short stop right next to her, a kinder look spilling over his usual callous features. She asked, unable to keep the confusion from tainting her voice,

"Is something wrong?"

Kyo shook his head with celerity and then stared down at the ground for a long while, as if deciding on what to do next. Things felt so awkward at that moment, but then an astounding warmth filled her body all of the sudden, surprising Tohru. She looked down and her eyes widened when she saw that he had gruffly grabbed her thin wrist into his rough, yet warming hands. His cheeks were tinged with a rosy color and he quickly turned around, pulling her along the empty and dark streets of Kyoto, grumbling out, "I don't want you to get hurt... it's dangerous out here at night you know!" Tohru still had that befuddled look on her face at first as she stumbled along the road behind him, but then she felt a genuine smile turning up her lips, and soon she wasn't able to wipe the silly grin off of her face while she let Kyo pull her along the long road, thinking to herself with hope restored in her mind,

_This means... that maybe he does care about me…_

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	3. Changing Colors

**_THANKS TO EVERYONE THAT REVIEWED!!_ AND i'M SORRY FOR NOT UPDATING SOONER... BUT SCHOOL CALLS OUT TO ME. . WELL I HOPE YOU ENJOY THIS NEXT CHAPPIEEE :D**

**WILTED FLOWER**

**Chapter 3 - Changing Colors**

The sky was darkening, and the moon was slowly fading beneath a facade of clouds that were conquering the night skies. It was about a half hour past midnight and Kyo was walking Tohru back to her house after the whole park fiasco. While walking down the neighborhood, Kyo's forehead crinkled slightly as he surveyed the area with frenzied eyes, thinking to himself,

_Wait a second...this area looks oddly familiar... have I been here before?_

Before he could analyze the situation any further, Tohru stopped in front of a moderately big house with nice bushels of flowers that surrounded the sides of the house, with a freshly mown lawn and shining glass windows that gleamed in the pale moonlight. One look at the house and Kyo's mouth dropped open involuntarily.Tohru's forehead creased with concern and she asked,

"Are you allright?" when she saw him pale slightly.

Kyo looked down at the worried girl beside him and asked in a throaty voice,

"Uhh... is this your house?"

Tohru smiled and smoothed down the sides of her hair with a pat of her hand, answering,

"Yeah, well... umm thank you so much for walking me home. It was really nice to see you again... and we _will_ see each other again right?"

Kyo's throat suddenly became very dry and he gulped a couple of times to saturate himself before replying back hesitantly, "I don't know..." Tohru looked down at his uncertainty and then nodded glumly before giving him one last hopeful smile. Then she hopped up the stone steps to the door where she turned her back to him to open the door with her silver key. While turning the knob, she turned her head back and said with a warming smile,

"Good night,"

then she disappeared into the house after those two final words. A deafening silence lingered in the air and Kyo could feelt a huge lump form gradually in the back of his throat while he stood in front of the big cold house, petrified. He was so taken aback by the fact that he had actually stolen from her... of all people, _her. _Kyo kicked the rocks on the pavement in an irate manner and growled under his breath while walking the rest of the way back to the Shadow Bandit's hideout.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Kyo entered the creaking door of the cabin and saw the group sitting in a circle on the floor, all slurping up bunches of ramen and playing cards, like they always did.

"Yo, where've you been?"

asked Haru plainly while placing his finished bowl of noodles down on the wooden floorboards. The rest of them turned their heads up and started to stare at Kyo for an answer of his whereabouts.

_What do I tell them?_

Kyo looked around the room frenetically, and his eye suddenly caught on the bag of treasures that they had pilfered from Tohru's house the other night, and he felt that unwonted feeling of guilt erupt into his insides again. He felt his heart tigten as he suddenly blurt out, "Look, you know that stuff we stole the other night?" One by one, they all cast each other strange looks and then turned their attention back to Kyo, nodding and giving him curious looks, waiting for him to say more. Kyo's eyes swept shamefully to the ground and he could feel his fingers shaking a little as he said through clenched teeth,

"Well... uhh... we have to give it back."

All ten eyebrows seemed to shoot up at once, and Hatori stood up from the ground abruptly, ignoring his food and cards, asking as calmly as ever,

"Why?"

Kyo continued to stare down at the floor and muttered back with a low voice,

"Let's just give it back, okay?"

Haru was the next to speak up,

"What's your problem?"

"Yea! We earned that stuff ourselves!"

Shigure chimed in.

_Dammit!_

Kyo's head flew up and he looked up at the group with flaming eyes, then he yelled out in a strained voice,

"We just have to okay?! We can get more stuff from another house or something, but I..."

Hatori crossed his long arms over his chest and asked calmly,

"You what?"

Kyo looked around the room to see that all eyes were on him, making him sweat. Then he finally admitted in a low mutter, "I _know_ this person that we stole from, allright? Happy now? Now let's just give it back..." Momiji could see that Kyo was in pain at the moment and cried out, trying to mediate things,

"Let's just give it back you guys! We can have more fun with another house."

Ayame nodded and aquiesced with Momiji,

"Yea, Kyo seems to be really passionate about this!"

Ayame then placed a delicate finger onto the tip of his snow white chin, thinking aloud, "I wonder why though... hmm.... I wonder who this person is. A _girl?!_ A LOVER?!"

Ayame was smiling idiotically as he promptly nodded his head with excitement, watching to see if Kyo would agree with his accusation. Kyo's face slowly filled up with a tomato color and he felt his body burst into a roaring blast of flames from Ayame's jesting words,

"Shut up!!"

Shigure's mouth flew open and he let out a huge, bellowing laugh escape from his overt lips. He fell to the floor with his arms clutched over his stomach and he howled in between his hooting laughter,

"It _is_ a girl!! Well then we _must_ return the goods to this young maiden, right?"

Hatori shrugged and then sat back down in the same calm and collected manner, but now he was sporting a hidden devilish smile on his lips,

"Well I guess you should return them back to your girlfriend then."

Momiji asked enthusiastically,

"Oooh! How did you meet her anyway?"

Kyo rolled his eyes at all of them and screamed out in defiance, "AUGH! You guys are so stupid!! She is _not_ my girlfriend! She's not anything!"

Kyo snatched the two bags that still contained the valuables, and then he stormed out of the doorway without another word. Everyone stared off at the enraged boy and then Haru asked to no one in particular,

"You think he's gone soft?"

**---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

Tohru's feet lagged up the cool stone steps to her house and she felt like her body ached all over, her work had really drained out a lot of the energy from her body. She yawned and pulled out her keys from her bookbag, and was in the process of turning her key in the keyhole when she felt her foot hit something solid, her eyebrows knit together and her eyes lowered down to see what her toe had just collided into. Her eyes widened a bit when she spotted two velvet black bags sitting right next to each other. She pulled the key out of the hole of the knob and then bent down to see what was inside of these mysterious bags that had ended up on her front porch. She cautiously lifted up the flaps of the bag, wondering what she would find, and where it had come from. She peeked inside to see what the bag contained, and to her surprise she saw that it was filled with all of her belongings. She blinked rapidly and took a second look to make sure. Surely it _was_ her things! Her bracelet was sitting inside, gleaming at her. Tohru gaped at the sight in wonder for a while, watching as the glittering jewels shined at her, wondering with amazement,

_How did these get here...?_

She pushed her hair back behind her ears and then clutched the mouth of the bag into her hands, wondering if that robber had actually _given_ the goods that were stolen, _back_ to her. Were there any other possibilities? She chewed on her lower lips in deep thought, and then decided to relinquish the questions that filled her mind, she was just going to have to sort this all out in the morning, because she was too tired to analyze the situation at the moment. She pushed open her front door and then vanished inside of her house, closing the door behind her.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Kyo blew out a cloudy breath and leaned against the bumpy bark of the large sycamore tree that he had run behind right after he had dropped those two bags on _her_ front porch. He was extremely relieved that he had gotten that over with, he could even feel the trickles of prespiration gathering up at the top of his forehead from doing one small good deed.

_Geez... what's **is** my problem?_

-------------------------------------------

Kyo was slumped back into the cabin and saw the group sprawled out on the ground, asleep. All except for Ayame who was raking a small wooden brush through his cascading, flowing, snow white hair. His bright olive eyes sparkled when he saw Kyo enter the door and he announced immediately,  
  
"Ahh, so how did everything go with your lover?"

Kyo gritted his teeth together and retorted back with annoyance,

"Shut up, you idiot! She is not my _lover,_ so just shut the hell up."

Ayame pointed at Kyo teasingly and said laughingly, "Kyonkichi is flustered!!" Kyo's face flared and he stomped into the bathroom, slamming the door shut, trying to shut out Ayame's faded laughter.

_She means **nothing!**_

--------------------------------------------

It was the next morning and Kyo had left relatively earlier from the cabin, earlier than his usual time to wake up. The reason was only to take a stroll outside and get a deep breath of the fresh air. This wasn't something he usually did every morning, but for some unknown reason, he had felt like his brain was wounded too tight, so he went outside to clear it up. It felt like an hour had passed after some aimless wandering around the city and he finally stopped to sit down at a nearby bench in front of a bunch of pigeons that quickly fled when he seated himself. He sighed and stared straight ahead, not knowing what he was doing, and what he was _thinking_ anymore for that matter. His head pounded loudly in his mind and he buried his hands over his face for a minute, letting the blinding darkness fill his eyes. He then peeked out from the small holes between his fingers, letting the shining light seep into his dilated pupils. His hands slipped slowly off of his face, and he lifted his head up, seeing the light blue color that washed over the clear sky, touched with gentle sprays of white that served as clouds. His eyes moved downward and he spotted a cluster of wildflowers that were blooming up from the grass, blinding him with all of their clashing hues that melded together all at once.

Why had he never noticed the beautiful things in this small town before? Whenever he walked through these neighborhoods, he saw dark colors, wilted flowers, and dreary skies. He had never actually taken a second look to notice the colors of things. What had changed now? Why were things seemingly... _different?_ His teeth bit down against each other and a sudden thought dawned into his head as his feet carried him into a place that he had never thought of visiting ever again.

-------------------------------------

Childen's laughter erupted from nearly a mile away while Kyo approached the orphanage that he had once been sheltered. He watched as the little kids in the yard laughed and chased each other around like rabid dogs on the loose. He felt his heart ache a little, and he gulped, feeling his heart tighten as flashbacks sped through his head like lightning. He almost turned to leave. _Almost._ He took a deep breath and let his courage loose as he shuffled slowly around the orphanage, stopping with amazement when he saw a beautiful flowerbed sitting in the middle of the garden of the orphanage. It hadn't been there before...

Even with the cold, biting winds that slashed his face, the pale sunlight that was almost invisible, somehow showered its gently rays onto the flowers, showcasing their beauty to nature. The petals of the flowers were each sprinkled with little dew drops and Kyo had never seen such a sight that made his heart turn over on its sides. He reluctantly walked up closer to the flowerbed and jumped back, when he saw that there was a girl stooping down in the flowerbeds. She looked up from her spot on the ground and to his surprise it was a familar face, Tohru's face.

Her face was in shock as she cried out,

"Kyo-kun?!"

"You scared the living hell outta me!"

Her laugh was like a song and her chestnut hair glittered gently while she swiped her hands over her cotton dress very rapidly, "I'm sorry," she answered back with a terse bow. Kyo ignored her apology and proceeded to walk closer to the flowerbed, and then he asked under his breath, not looking straight at her, "So... what are you doing here?" Tohru tilted her head at him with curiosity and then smiled nostalgically, "I come here to help Kitsune with the flowers once in a while... I just love to see the wondrous beauty growing here."

Kyo didn't say anything else, prodding her to ask him nervously,

"Umm, so what are you doing here?"

His head jerked up with a blush staining his tan skin, when he realized that _he_ didn't even know why he had come here... it was just something that he had wanted to do. A _feeling._

"I guess...um... you know, I'm not so sure of why I came here either."

Tohru nodded as if she understood what he was talking about and then asked him lightly,

"Would you like to help with the flowers?"

"Eh... I'm not a flowery kind of guy."

Tohru giggled at his mordant reply and then nodded again,

"Well, if you ever change your mind then that would be amazing."

Before the two could say anymore, a small child ran to the flowerbeds and Tohru met up with him in alarm, asking with concern,

"Is everything okay?"

The little boy's eyes were muddled up with tears, and his nose was running like water while he tried his best to sniff it all up. He looked like he was hysterical from the way that he was shaking, and he finally blurted out in a tremoring and broken up voice, "Th-the... k-kids are m-m-making... f-fun of me! T-they s-s-said I was t-too mu-much of a l-lo-loser to play with th-them!" He began to wail after the last words stuttered out from his flapping lips and Tohru patted him on the head, trying her best to comfort him,

"It'll be okay, you don't have to listen to them! You are a wonderful person!"

Kyo walked over to the kid and waited until the little boy calmed down enough to gape up at the older boy that overshadowed him by a few feet. Kyo kneeled down and Tohru moved over a few inches to give Kyo some room. Kyo sternly looked into the little child's eyes,

"Look kid. You can't let those kids win."

The kid wiped away his tears with his right sleeve and then asked with a less shaky voice, and with more amazement now,

"Who are you?"

Kyo just rolled his eyes and said with exasperation,

"Does it matter? I'm just telling you that if you let those kids win, then they'll never let you play with them. So, just be strong alright? Be firm, and don't let those little pieces of shit tell you what you are, you tell them that you'll kick their asses if they make fun of you again, got it? Just remember to be strong about it, not wussy"

The little boy nodded tentatively at Kyo, thinking that this stranger was the coolest guy he had ever met, but also not wanting to disobey the older boy for he may have been plagued with a black eye at any moment. The small child touched his chin to his chest, looking down at his ragged shoes in shame, admitting in a brittle tone,

"But... I don't know how to be strong..."

his lower lip began to tremble again and he stated honestly,

"I'm not like you..."

Kyo immediately slapped the kid across the head, lightly, getting the boy's attention and Kyo harshly stated,

"Just _find _your strength! ...Find it in someone that you care most about."

The boy looked down and thought for a while, not fully comprehending Kyo's words. Kyo sighed out loud and then, with exasperation, he barked out,

"Now get your ass up, and march back in there alright?!"

The boy's ruddy face turned red and he scrambled up to stand taller, saluting and smiling at the same time, feeling a surge of newfound pride and hope saturating him, "Alright!!" Kyo smirked and then pushed the boy back into the direction of the yard, clapping his hands together in mock conceit,

"Now that's how it's done,"

he said while raising an eyebrow at Tohru. She stared at him for a while and then a smile spread onto her lips as she said,

"That was amazing."

Kyo blushed and turned away,

"Nah.... it was nothing."

Tohru looked down at the flowers with almost a sadlook swirling in her eyes as she murmured gently, "I'll try to remember what you said..." Kyo looked at her and asked,

"Wait, what?"

Tohru nervously let out a laugh and waved her hand in the air, dismissing her strange behavior, and answered back with another nervous laugh,

"Nothing!"

She stooped back down into the flowerbeds with a pink face and Kyo watched her for a moment before saying diffidently,

"I'm... gonna go now."

Tohru nodded, her head still bent down low, hiding behind the flowers as she asked softly,

"We will meet again...right?"

Kyo stopped, his back facing her, wondering how to answer her question. He smirked and then finally answered sincerely this time, "We'll meet somewhere again," he paused,

"I'm sure of it."

With that, he walked away from her, feeling a sense of accomplishment wash over him.

----------------

_I can feel it..._

Kyo walked down the bright and lively streets of Kyoto, seeing that even though the streets weren't really carved out of pure gold, he looked at it, and noticed its wonders. He noticed the life of the city that he had been staying at. The people. The sky. The flowers; everything.

_I can feel everything changing, and it's going so quickly... _

He stopped and stood at the middle of the local park, surrounded by the echoing laughter of the kids. But, instead of their laughter sounding like screams to him, they washed over him as if it were like soothing music to his ears. Instead of the sky being gray, it was bluer than the ocean's surface, and now the flowers that were once wilted in his eyes, were painted with various hues that made them unique and beautiful in their own way. Everything was different now.

_I feel so...different... It's as if everything's... changing colors._

**PLEASE PLEASE REVIEWWW :D**


	4. Deep Secrets

**THANKS FOR ALL THE REVIEWS PEEPZ!! :D**

**WILTED FLOWER**

**Chapter 3 - Deep Secrets**

"I'm sooooo hungry!!"

wailed Momiji, who was laying flat on his back, both hands raised over his head, and his eyes screwed tightly shut. Shigure laid down on the floorboards along with Momiji, and placed his palms over his grumbling stomach and said with a slightly whiney voice,

"Yea... my stomach has been complaining for hours!"

Hatori pushed up his wirey glasses and looked at the group that was strewn all across the floor in starvation, except for Ayame who was perched on a wooden stool, sporting his best lavender kimono. He then crossed his arms over his chest and cleared his throat with authority, inquiring with accusation,

"Well... who was the one that ate half the bags of ramen in _one_ day?"

Everybody's eyes went straight to Momiji and he laughed loudly, while sitting up,

"Aww, you guys! I was hungry that day..."

They all sighed and Kyo muttered out under his breath,

"Nice going, idiot."

Momiji shot Kyo a pouty expression, but quickly recovered with his usual elated look, shouting out,

"Hey! We can always go and get some more ramen right now!"

Haru put down the magazine that he was reading, obviously now intrigued, and looked at Hatori, asking, "Yeah, how about it?"

Hatori crossed the room and opened up a dusty drawer, withdrawing a small velvet pouch. He then held the bag, open, flipping it over so that it was now upside down. They all watched to see what would come out, but nothing did, except for a few dust particles and lint mixed together. They looked back up at Hatori in confusion and he sighed out loud as he spoke as distinctly as possible,

"Apparently, we have no more money."

Kyo's cheeks burned when he realized that it was his fault that they were currently out of money so he croaked out,  
  
"How about we just steal more then?"

Hatori looked up at the ceiling thoughtfully and then nodded with a small smile appearing on his thin lips, tersely agreeing,

"Good idea. Let's go."

The room burst out with cheers and claps, and then they all slipped into the appropriate black attire, ready for some action.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

The whole world was dark after midnight, and all six of the men dressed in black congregated in front of the tall house on 23rd street, surveying the empty streets with careful eyes. Then they continued to sneak around the house, surrounding all sides. Kyo and Momiji then crept into the ajar window, just like they had last time, and then, like mice, they scurried through each and every room taking all of the things that looked like they had some sort of value to them. Momiji left before Kyo did, while he rummaged through the drawers of a room, pulling out a golden necklace with a little locket shaped like a heart. He smirked and then stuffed it into his tight pockets, but his hand froze at the bottom of the pocket when he caught a glimpse of a child standing diagonal from him, hiding in a shadow with a teddy bear clutched in her hands.

_Just run! Just run!_

These thoughts chanted through his mind while he broke into a cold sweat. He tried to lift his shaking legs, but the small girl's huge brown eyes caused him to freeze in his place, feeling the guilt and fear explode all over his insides. She then whispered out with apprehension,

"Are you going hurt me, mister?"

Kyo's grip on the golden chain of the necklace tightened, and then he finally loosened his grip, letting the necklace fall into the pits of his deep pockets. His heart was thundering loudly in his chest, as he inched closer to the girl, watching as her eyes filled with wet tears. He said as soothingly as he possibly could,

"I'm not gonna hurt you..."

Pounds of worry seemed to immediately lift out from her eyes after his gentle words, and she then accosted him, not so scared anymore. Kyo gulped and then backed away, hitting against the drawer, rattling it loudly, when she got closer to him. He lowered his head, not wanting her to see his face, and then he gruffly said quickly,

"I...I have to go now. Don't say a word about this."

He then jumped out of the window in panic, with the girl watching him the whole time, a befuddled expression flooding her face. Kyo raced to the five figures that were standing by the car, and when they spotted Kyo running towards them, they all jumped into the car, with Kyo following close behind them. Kyo looked out one last time at the tall, dark house, and gulped when he swore he saw an outline of the little child's figure at the window. He shut his eyes tightly and listened to the blood pumping in his mind for a moment, and then opened his eyes again to see if she was still there, but he didn't have another chance to take another look at the window because Ayame was already racing away with his maniac speed.

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_The next morning_

"YUMM!!"

Momiji was happily slurping up a load of noodles into his mouth, letting the soup droplets splash all over the sides of his mouth, slowly dribbling down the edges of his chin. Everyone else just grinned and slurped along in unified content, all except for Kyo, who was brooding outside, up on the roof of the house, feeling extremely guilty. He sighed and bent his leg, feeling something uncomfortable in his pocket. He reached inside the depths of his pants pockets and pulled out a golden chain with a locket dangling at the end. He stared at it, entranced for a moment, before gathering it into his balled up fists, jumping off of the roof and heading to 23rd street. When he got there, he stared up at the tall white house, that looked so much brighter now in the daylight with the birds chirping a subtle song. He clutched the necklace in his left hand and then bravely marched up the steps to the house,loosening his grip on the necklace, and placing the chain over the knob of the door. He blew out a deep exhale and then backed away from the door, hoping that noone had spotted him as he raced away, back to the cabin.

---------------------------

_Everything feels like it's just piling on... all the houses that I've stolen from. I've felt nothing in the past... but after last night, I feel as if I've just woken up from a deep coma and into this parallel universe where I start to feel actual **guilt** for each and evey house that I've stolen from. Why? Why is this all happening now? What am I supposed to do?_

Kyo sat up and stared down at the log roof for a while, his fists clenched tightly at his lap as he licked his dry lips, thinking,

_I can't... tell them that I'm feeling guilty, they'll hate me, and they're all I've got. They're my... family. I'm just going to have to keep all these stupid feelings a secret, not like they mean anything right? The feeling will pass eventually.... I hope._

------------------------------

Tohru sprinkled drops of water all over the flowers with the hose that was held snugly in her hands. She hummed a song as she waved the hose from side to side, making sure to spray each and every flower, doing her best not to leave any of them out. A tap was felt on her shoulder, interrupting her harmonic hums and she yelped, while accidentally turning around and spraying her companion. She let go of the hose and her hands flew to her mouth while her face turned red when she saw who she had just sprayed.

Kyo stood behind her with veins popping in his head and his hair was dripping with little droplets. He turned around and began to walk away but Tohru scrambled to her feet, running up to him,

"W-Wait! I'm so sorry! I didn't see you there... I-It's just that you startled me and.. um.."

"Yea yea..."

Tohru lowered her head and asked shyly,

"Um... so what are you doing here?"

"Forget it. It's nothing."

Tohru fiddled with her thumbs and asked,

"Do you um... want to stay here or something?"

Kyo turned her way and then bit his lip hesitantly, uncertain of what kind of actions to take next. He walked past her and then sat down on the healthy green grass near the flowers and sniffed in the scent of the flowers that danced happily in the wind. He propped an elbow on his knee and his fire colored hair flicked through the wind wildly as he stared serenely at the flowers,

"I just...wanna sit here for a while if you don't mind."

Tohru shook her head with pink cheeks and stooped downward to pick up the hose that was down on the grass. She then continued to spray the flowers with water, watching Kyo out of the corner of her eye, smiling unconsciously.

**PLEASE REVIEWWW!!!!**


	5. Vindicated

**i am truly sorry for the whole non updating factor, but i got all caught up in school and the sudden case of writer's block, so please forgive me and continue to enjoy the following chapters. I'll still try to finish my other story _Complete_, for those of you that still read that, but I'm also currently on writers block with that story too OO sooo.... just please enjoy this chapter for now. I know its a bit short... but bear with me here ;D**

**THANKS FOR THE REVIEWS EVERYONE 3 3**

**WILTED FLOWER**

**Chapter 5 - Vindicated**

"Catch it! Catch it!"

The round red ball soared through the air and landed right into Kyo's open arms. The kids at the orphanage erupted with screams and cheers as they began to jump up and down, crowding Kyo's body. Kyo cracked a childish grin and he pumped his fist up in the air, shouting,

"Hell yeah! Team Red kicks so much ass!"

Tohru was sitting at the benches with a small smile playing on her lips as she watched Kyo and the other kids playing kick ball together. Currently the team Kyo had been on had won. Tohru watched as Kyo seperated from the screaming children and strided over to Tohru, a smirk gliding over his lips. He plopped down next to her, his smirk tiding over into a big grin as he asked with mock conceit,

"So did you see my grand catch?"

Tohru giggled and nodded with genuine excitement,

"Yes, and it was amazing!"

Kyo rolled his eyes and smirked again while watching the kids get into another round of kickball without him this time. Tohru looked down at her lap and then glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, a deep blush dawning over her milky white skin,

"Um... I was surprised that you came out here today, and I'm just... glad."

Kyo felt his face flush red and he scratched the back of his head nervously, answering back with his usual gruffness,

"I was just... uh... bored! Nothing special."

Tohru nodded again with a smile and then looked at her watch, her eyes widening with dissappoinment and panic all at once. She shot up from the bench and Kyo mirrored her move as he asked with alarm,

"What's wrong?"

Tohru looked over at him with panicked brown eyes and then she quickly gave him a small wave while brushing off the seat of her pale pink skirt,

"Um, I have to go! I was supposed to be home a while ago and I lost track of time and everything. I'm sorry! Bye!"

Before Kyo could lift his hand back up in return or offer to walk her home, she had already raced off at top speed. Kyo shrugged off her strange behavior and began to slowly walk back to the cabin, he sighed when he realized that everyday he was beginning to dread going back. He hated the way that they were able to just steal without feeling a tinge of guilt piercing their very souls, and how they were just so carefree about everything. It was really beginning to piss him off. These past few days had been pretty much torture for him, he had felt awkward and different with the people that he thought were like family to him, what had changed?

Everything.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Once Kyo entered the room, tension filled his lungs when he heard the five of them all talking excitedly about something. When they spotted Kyo, they all lifted their heads in unison. Momiji immediately spilled the main details of what they were talking about,

"Hey Kyo!! Guess what? We're planning on getting a TV!"

Kyo raised an eyebrow at them and then plunked down onto a spot of the dusty floorboards asking dubiously,

"_Getting_ one? Or _stealing_ one?"

Haru rolled his eyes and placed his hands behind his head nonchalantly,

"Obviously stealin' it. Geez, what's up _your_ butt?"

Kyo gulped with his teeth clenched tightly together and he averted his eyes away from the group, answering solemnly,

"Shut up. I was just making sure."

Hatori shrugged on a new leather jacket that Kyo had never seen before, tossing the car keys at Ayame who snatched it out of the air. Hatori then opened up the door, commanding,

"Let's go then."

They all headed out of the door, one by one, Kyo being the last one to go out. He hesitated at the door, but then when he looked into Hatori's familiar eyes he gulped and then hurried out of the door with his head held down in shame.

----------------------------------------------

_It's all because of her...**she** changed me._

Kyo stared into the glowing flowers that gleamed in the shimmering sun as he waited impatiently for Tohru to arrive. When he finally heard soft foosteps approaching, he whipped his head around and saw her familiar figure standing a few feet behind him. He froze and nearly forgot what he had originally came there to do, but after a few moments of staring into her eyes, he remembered it clearly again. His hands shook with fear as he stepped closer to her,

"Good morning Kyo-kun! You're here very early tod--"

Kyo cut her off rudely and brashly interrupted, "Look, I have something to say to you."

Tohru's eyes filled with curiosity as she asked innocently,

"What is it? Is something wrong?"

_Why does she have to make this so damn hard?_

Kyo cleared his throat and advanced closer, but then stopped to turn his back to her, unable to stare into her huge brown eyes any longer, they were too pure to be tainted with pain.

"I...don't want to speak to you anymore."

Tohru wasn't sure she heard right when the words tumbled rapidly out of his tight lips. She softly asked with a furrowed brow to clarify things,

"Wh-what?"

He turned around, his eyes burning now with false fury and genuine pain,

"I said... I don't want to speak to you ever again! I'm... I'm tired of pretending to be your friend. I only spoke to you because.. because... I felt...."

His voice dwindled downward to a cowardly whispter as he finished his sentence,

"Sorry for you..."

Wet tears filled her hurt eyes and he felt his heart knot up inside his body as she stuttered out with a throaty whisper,

"You don't mean that Kyo..."

Her purity and kindness made him burn with anger as he yelled out so loudly that he swore he could feel the earth shake beneath him,

"SHUT UP! Let's just pretend that we never met, got it?!"

"You don't mean it... You don't..."

"I SAID SHUT UP!!"

Her hands shook as she wiped a solitary tear from her widened eyes and she finally asked with a d thick and shaking voice,

"Why are you being like this? Why are you acting this way?"

Kyo simply ignored her questions and brushed past her coldly, ignoring her pain and her tears. Before he knew it, he had broken into a fast run and the scenery around him transformed into a blur as he felt the moisture hit his cheeks, and it wasn't water. It was tears.

_You did the right thing. Now the guilt should melt away... I shoule be free now. _

_Vindicated._

**REVIEWS PLLLLEASSE :D :D:D:D:D:D:D THANKS SUPER MUCH**


	6. Crying for Help

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews, my homefries ;D You people are the coolest people in the entire world of worlds. Welps, read on my buddies and ENJOY! :)**

**And to answer a question from a fellow reviewer: Yes I made this storyline up from the top of my head and used Kyo and Tohru as characters :D hehe I always write AlternateUniverse versions of Fruits Basket cuz they're funner than following the storyline, plus I can make them hug and that's always a plus. hope that clears things up. Thanks for the review btw! **

**WILTED FLOWER**

**Chapter 6 - Crying for Help**

Kyo fidgeted quietly in his seat on the rickety brown chair in the corner of the room, unable to comprehend how the whole gang was able to watch the tainted television, that was illegally taken from another person, without even feeling a speck of remorse. Kyo couldn't even bare to watch another second of the blaring television, so he sighed audibly, turning his head away from the blue glow of the lighted screen.

_Why does my heart continue to ache...? Can't I be satisfied?_

Unable to take anymore of the guilty noises that filled the cabin, Kyo stood up to his feet and took a deep breath as he raised his voice so that it conquered the volume of the television,

"Hey guys, I'm gonna go out for a little while."

"Yea, yea, whatever,"

answered the rest of the group in a murmur as they suddenly burst out into a fit of laughter when a mustached man appeared on the screen, shooting a middle aged bearded man in the left arm with a gun. Kyo clenched his teeth together and then stormed out of the house, breathing in the cold, clean air.

-----------------------------

"What an ASS!"

yelled Uo at the top of her lungs after school. She banged her knuckles against the gritty brick wall of the crumbling school building, causing Tohru to cringe backwards from watching Uo's violent way of venting her anger. Hana patted Tohru on the shoulder lightly and then shut her eyes, asking casually,

"Do you want me to kill him for you?"

Tohru's eyes froze and you could see the whites all around her pupils as a spill of nervous laughter fell from her lips. In her head she knew that she shouldn't have told them of her recent experience with Kyo, but they were her best friends, so it was expected for them to blow the whole situation out of proportion, right? She shook her head with a tight lipped smile and then she waved her hands in front of her, in a frantic manner,

"Guys, please don't worry about me!"

"How can we not?! That bastard can't just hurt you like that and get away with it!"

Uo rolled up her sleeves in fury and stomped ahead of the two of them, angrily shouting out with her fists raised in the air,

"Where does he live?! I'll cream him!"

Tohru rushed up behind Uo and grabbed her by the sleeve, pleading softly,

"Please don't do anything... I... don't want to make things even worse, and no one needs to get hurt. So please... just leave it alone."

"But..."

protested Uo softly at Tohru's humble request. Hana was the next to come up behing Uo. She pulled Uo aside, away from Tohru, whispering softly in her ear,

"Just leave her alone for a while... we'll check up on her tomorrow. For now, let's just go... she needs time to herself right now."

Uo sighed with defeat and nodded warily, knowing that Hana was usually correct most of the time,

"All right... but sometimes I really worry about her..."

"Me too,"

answered Hana with her monotonous voice. Tohru tucked a thick chunk of silky brown hair behind her rounded ears and then she lifted her hand up in a tentative wave,

"Well, I'll see you guys tomorrow. Bye!"

They both smiled at her tiredly and then nodded positively before turning their heels to walk home. Tohru blew out a shaky breath and then began to walk home alone, feeling the old tears prick the back of her eyelids for what seemed like the millionth time that day, but she blinked them away as quickly as she could, trying her best not to cry. Her head was bent low and her vision was blurring again, but she kept on blinking rapidly in attempt to make the tears disappear. She sniffed noisily and dabbed at her eyes with her fingers while staring down at the blurred concrete. Before more tears could come forth she bumped into a solid body and looked up with an apology ready in her mouth,

"I'm sorr..."

The words died from her lips immediately when she saw herself staring into a pair of intense crimson eyes that made her want to melt right into the ground. She gulped and found herself unconsciously staring into his maroon eyes for a lingering moment, and she swore she saw a speck of guilt fill his usual empty eyes. His eyes flew downward before she could analyze his feelings any further, and then he turned his head away from her, a slight blush crawling across his heated skin, but he ignored his feelings and continued to walk on, brushing right past her. She opened her mouth and yelled out what she yearned to say,

"Wait! Kyo-kun!"

He froze for a second at her voice, but forced his legs to keep on walking. Her chest tightened, but her determination sent her forward, making her chase after him and grab his arm with desperate hands, asking,

"Can we just talk?"

"No."

His terse answer caused her hands to slowly fall limply back to her sides and he could feel the beginning of an endless waterfall of pain flooding out from beneath his heart as he lifted his legs again, leaving her alone on the street corner, hands trembling.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Wasn't there always a place that a person would go to, to ease their pain? The park was the place where Tohru would go. She went there just to think things out whenever she was in pain.

She stared up at the glowing moon as she hugged her knees to her chest at the top of the metal slide. She rested her chin to her knee and closed her eyes, but the tranquility only lasted for a moment because the sound of a terrifying snap of a stick being broken loudly against the pavement sent her eyes flying back open again She looked around in alarm and her heart frosted up into an icy cage when she saw the source of her worries staring right up at her with glistening eyes. The look on his face was so open... so doleful, that Tohru felt the need to assuage his pain. She gulped when the familiar deep voice that sent chills running up and down her spine sounded throughout the silence of the vacant park,

"You mind if I join you?"

She felt her hands clam up and she shook her head from side to side, feeling a cold sweat prickling down the side of her head as she answered back quickly,

"No, not at all!"

Kyo stepped out from the moonlight and approached the slide, climbing up the shiny blue ladder slowly while she scooted down a few inches so that he could sit down next to her, their hips grazing each other ever so slightly. Tohru looked over at him with concern filling her deep brown eyes and she asked,

"Are you okay? You look pained..."

Kyo stared ahead into space for a minute, feeling his fists tighten so badly that his knuckles were white. She glanced down to see his hands shaking and she felt the urge to take his hands into hers, but she was scared of how he would react, since he had been acting pretty surly towards her lately. He looked in her direction for a moment, his eyes overtly covered with vulnerability. But then he whipped his head back down to hide his face in the shadows before she could see any more emotions that were pent up in his eyes. He gripped the edges of the cold metal slide and then lifted his head up slightly so that she could see his face clearly now... it was so sincere as he softly stated with a hoarse voice,

"I'm sorry."

The two words shocked her somehow, and Tohru looked down at her lap, at loss of words, feeling a slow blush creeping up onto her cheeks as she finally answered back,

"It's okay. You have nothing to be sorry about."

"Yes I do! You know I was acting like a jerk... so just admit it."

"You were probably in a bad mood! Nothing big... please don't blame yourself for anything."

His voice was back to it's usual gruffness, but then at the end of his sentence he voice choked up,

"I _wasn't_ in a bad...mood..."

Her mouth dropped open a bit when she swore she saw a silent silver tear streak down his tanned complexion, making her immediately yelp out, her voice pouring out with thick emotion,

"Kyo-kun! P-please don't cry. Just tell me what's bothering you, I promise to help you to my fullest!"

Kyo's dry lips opened up and nothing came out at first, not sure of what to say next, but after realizing the sweetness to her voice... the honesty, he couldn't help but hear himself utter out the words that he had wanted to say to her for so long,

"I... I need help..."

After the words struggled out of his mouth, he began to tremble a little, and his breaths became small gasps as a fresh batch of tears spilled out from beneath his eyes. Her eyes filled with sudden sadness and after a moment of hesitation, she touched his cheek with a tender hand, making him look up at her with his wet eyes. She then held him close to her, embracing him into the warmest hug he had ever endeared. He shut his eyes, resting his chin on her petite shoulders while she caressed his soft head of flames. She listened to him sob soundlessly through the night for a moment before squeaking out softly,

"I'll help you with whatever you need help with... you can tell me anything."

He sobbed lightly on her right shoulder and choked out a coherent sentence,

"I've wanted to tell you for so long. So long."

She answered back as soothingly as possible,

"Tell me what?"

Silence filled the air and then the warmth rushed away as Kyo removed himself from her cozy embrace, looking at her with tinted red eyes, admitting with a voice full of sorrow,

"I'm not who you thought I was. I'm not that innocent little kid I used to be. I'm... I'm ..."

He looked away in shame for a second but then looked back at her with newfound fierceness and strength as he stated firmly,

"A bandit."

Her eyes widened and she blinked a couple of times with celerity, repeating his last statement with overt shock,

"A...bandit?"

He looked down with wary eyes and then back at her, croaking out with a thick voice,

"I've done so much wrong... so much stealing... and I used to be fine with it. But then something happened...."

Tohru prodded quietly,

"What?"

He chuckled softly and then tersely answered,

"You."

She gulped and wanted to say more, but nothing came out of her mouth for a long moment, so he filled in the rift of silence with his words,

"You come along and make me feel... different... _better_ different. You make me want to _change_ into someone that can amount to something more, you know? And I didn't want to accept the changes at first, so that was why I was being so cruel to you, but... but the sins I've committed are still haunting me now. They're torturing me still, and I regret all the pain that I've caused you. I'm... sorry."

She bit her lower lip and paused before offering strongly,

"Change happens to all of us... it's inevitable. Sometimes it can be bad, and sometimes it's beautiful, but no matter what I'll accept everything about you because you're still Kyo to me. So just do what your heart tells you to... you can stop the nightmare and the sins. I'll help you, I promise."

He protested promptly,

"I can't just stop! I'm part of a...a group!"

He sighed and then leaned his head against the cool pole that was next to him and muttered quietly to her,

"I never told you this... but after you left the orphanage I guess I sorta ran away. Then _they_ found me, and took me under their wing. How am I supposed to break away from people that I've known almost my entire life? They're like _family_."

She replied softly and simply,

"Kyo... if they really care about you, they will understand. Tell them how you really feel..."

He banged his fist on the metal part of the slide and cussed under his breath,

"Damn..."

Tohru bit her lower lip again and then looked down at his lonely hand, she then followed her instinct by grabbing his hand into hers with one quick movement.

They were as cold as ice.

She covered the top of his shivering fingers with her other hand, and held his hand tightly within her petite fingers. He looked up at her in surprise before flashing her his first warm smile, making her smile back diffidently at him, adding softly,

"I know that everything will turn out okay, I'll support you all the way, no matter what."

His shoulders relaxed for the first time in weeks, and then he whispered out into the night,

"Thanks."

**HOPE YOU PEOPLE ENJOYED THIS CHAPTER. REVIEWS PLEASEEEE. THANKS A BUNCH!! **


	7. Finding Your Strength

**Thanks for the reviews and sorry for the long wait hehe. :D :D :D :D :D enjoy the next coming chapters ;D and i'll _try_ to continue Complete, but I'm in major writers block mode for that story oO hahah but it'll come along, hopefully.. :P**

**WILTED FLOWER**

**Chapter 7 - Finding Your Strength**

It was a starfilled night, and the two were contently walking home after leaving the park slides. Kyo's hands were stuffed in his pockets with a new light bursting in his cinnamon eyes, and Tohru couldn't wipe the grin that was permanently pasted on her face for the time being. When they reached the front of the house, Tohru opened her mouth to wish him good night, but she was rudely interrupted by the whipping open of the front door. She gasped when her father's angry, ruddy face appeared at the doorway, his whole face was red with anger as he pushed open the screen door with a bang, scanning Tohru with enraged eyes. Kyo's eyes widened at the sight of the strange man in the house and grimaced when the man ordered loudly,

"Get in Tohru. Do you know how late it is?! And who's _this?!"_

Tohru's eyes filled with pure fear as she squeaked out with alarm,

"N-Noone! I'm so sorry for coming home late... I'll see you later Kyo..."

Kyo just shot her a worried expression and was about to ask if she would be okay, but Tohru had already rushed into the house with a shamed expression, while the dad slammed the door right in Kyo's face.

_I guess that's what happens when you have parents..._

Kyo pursed his lips, hoping that she wasn't in too much trouble, but there wasn't much he could do now, so he sighed and skipped down the smooth stone steps, heading back "home."

----------------------------------------

"You little bitch! You come home late? And for what? A nasty boy? You oughta be ashamed of yourself, you little slut!"

Her lips were trembling so badly as she stumbled backwards onto the wooden floor. She shuddered out with as much firmness she could muster, but the courage in her body had been sucked out completely from her system, leaving her weak and fragile,

"I-I'm sorry... It won't happen again. I'm so sorry."

"Shut up!"

The tears began to pour as he took out his belt from the loops of his pants, using the metal end to whip her on the shoulders. She cried out in pain and lay face down on the floor, thrashing around as her father continued to senselessly whip her on her arms, back and legs. She cried loudly in pain, not running, not fighting back, just laying there. When he finished, he threw the belt on the ground with a snort of disgust before growling out under his breath,

"That's what you get for being such a disobedient little bitch."

The tears leaked out of her eyes like a river, her whole body shaking with pain, and she felt paralyzed as she continued to lay there, shaking.

-------------------------------------------

Kyo closed the door to the cabin and Shigure immediately began the teasing fest,

"So where were you?"

Momiji chimed in with a full fledged smile,

"I bet Kyo had the hots! I mean, look how smiley he is!"

"Ohh! So the plot thickens!"

announced Ayame loudly in the corner of the room, putting down his fashion magazine with a devilish grin. Shigure placed his hands comfortably behind his head and asked with a mocking grin,

"So are you two in looooove yet?"

Kyo rolled his eyes and sighed audibly, yelling out with a pink face,

"You people just don't let up, and NO I do not love her, I just felt like going for a damn walk!"

They all laughed and Shigure hollered out loud,

"Yea... a WALK!"

--------------------------------------

The next morning crept up onto the world and the sun lit up the streets of Kyoto, crowding the sidewalks with pedestrians, and the streets with speeding cars. It was a beautiful day, and Kyo was spraying droplets of water onto the bed of flowers at the orphanage, when he finished watering the flowers he dropped the hose on top of the grass with a soft plop, then he walked over to Tohru who was planting more seeds elsewhere. He squatted down next to her with a smile and said,

"Done with the flowers."

Tohru turned to him with a bright smile, but the light in her eyes had vanished as she said gratefully,

"Thank you so much! You've helped out a lot."

"So how'd things go yesterday?"

Tohru's froze for a moment and then quickly went back to work, secretly sweating internally. She quietly replied back with a small smile,

"It was fine. Don't worry about it."

Kyo prodded further,

"So who was that guy yesterday?"

She ceased doing her work and started to fumble her thumbs together,

"Oh, um... well after my "mom" passed away two years ago, I was readopted again by him... and so now he's my legal guardian."

"Oh..."

"Everything's fine, don't worry."

Kyo cocked an eyebrow at her and said dubiously,

"You don't sound fine..."

She insisted with an overly high voice,

"I am! Please don't worry about me!"

Tohru rolled up her sleeves, feeling her body overheating from the sun that was beating down on her. That's when Kyo's eye caught onto a huge gash that was located right in the middle of her forearm. He snatched her arm into his warm yet rough hands and demanded,

"What happened?!"

Tohru wrenched her hand out of his grip with tear filled eyes and yanked her sleeve down promptly, rambling on,

"Nothing! I-I fell one time and it left this big mark on my arm. That's all."

He said through gritted teeth, wanting the truth,

"This doesn't look like a mark from falling. Tell me the truth."

She felt her chest tightening as real tears fell down from her red eyes like a chain; she whispered out,

"I can't."

He stared down deeply into her pained brown eyes and grabbed her shaking shoulders, yelling out,

"Who's hurting you?!"

She looked away from his burning eyes with shame and lied in a whisper,

"No one.."

He gulped and stared at the girl in front of him with tears rolling down the sides of her soft white cheeks. He lifted a hand and placed it under her chin, lifting it up to face him, and then he cupped her tear stained cheek with the palm of his tanned hands. Then he gently pulled her towards him, placing her cheek against his heart. Once her cheek rubbed against the soft fabric of his cotton black sweater she began to choke and sob like there was no tomorrow. She threw her small arms around his waist and desperately tried to catch her breath. He said under his breath,

"I won't ever forgive them whoever hurt you."

Her head shot up and she looked up at him with alarm fleeting in dark brown eyes,

"No... please don't hurt him, he means well."

He squinted at her with suspicion and repeated,

"Him?"

She stayed silent, not wanting to give out anymore hints, but Kyo had already figured it out,

"It's your father isn't it?"

More silence filled the air from the accusation, and that's when he knew it was all true. He uttered out with disgust and astonishment all balled up into one tone,

"It _is _him..."

She pulled away from Kyo and pleaded with him,

"Please don't think badly of him... he just gets angry very easily."

Anger boiled in Kyo's veins as looked at her with shining eyes, clenching his fists together,

"Don't stand up for that dirt bag!"

She raised her voice up a little and stood up from the flower bed,

"He's my father, and he's all I've got!"

Kyo rose up as well and spat out vehemently,

"_He's_ all you've got?! You've got to be kidding me!! You've got to stand up for yourself!"

She looked down at her plain white shoes for a moment and then admitted quietly to him,

"I can't..."

"Why the hell not?!"

"I..."

Kyo took her shoulders into his hands again and stated through gritted teeth,

"Find your strength."

She looked back up at him with empty eyes and asked dully,

"Where?"

He stepped closer to her, touching her arm with the tips of his finger and said with a low voice,

"The greatest strength always lies behind a person that you care about... that's where you find it."

She looked to the side at the soft flower petals that fluttered through the zephyr breeze and she repeated wistfully to herself,

"A person that I care about..."

Kyo removed his fingers from her arms and then lifted his fist to a tree, punching it hard, causing a few leaves to falter to the ground,

"I'll beat the crap out of that dirtbag..."

She grabbed his wrist with sweat slicked hands and pleaded with him,

"Please don't..."

Kyo frowned and inquired,

"Why not?"

"Because I have to do what you just said, stand up for myself. I have to use the strength that I've found..."

She looked down at the dirt and the grass, uttering in a hoarse whisper,

"I find my strength in you."

He repeated with astonishment,

"Me?"

Tohru nodded with a halfhearted smile and then said,

"Yes."

She rose her chin up a little further and said with as much confidence she could muster,

"I'm going to face him..."

She turned to walk away, but Kyo chased after her, and stood in front of her, stating with firmness,

"I'm coming with you, cuz if you get hurt I swear I'll..."

She gave him a worried look, but before she could protest, he added in,

"I'm coming whether you agree or not."

She looked at his earnest face for a minute and then nodded in defeat, piping up in a small voice,

"Thank you."

----------------------------

Kyo and Tohru stood outside the peaceful brick house and he leaned against the wall near a rose bush, nodding at Tohru with encouragement and she smiled back shakily, opening the door with a smidgen of tentativeness. She stepped inside the cold house and the first thing she saw was her father's shadow standing at the edge of the living room doorway, his arms cross with indignation, and his foot tapping with tidbits of anger. She gulped and left the door ajar as she stepped closer to him, quivering a little now. A booming voice filled the room, causing her to jump back a foot or two,

"Where the hell were you?! You were supposed to cook lunch by now."

"I just went to the park..."

"Whatever, go make some damn food already, I'm not going to wait around all day."

Her voice was barely audible as she whispered out,

"Dad... I have to tell you something."

"What? Speak up!"

"I have to tell you something."

"Well, out with it already."

She looked up at him, her teeth biting down on top of one another as she let out the words that she had longed to say for so long,

"I'm leaving!"

Her father could not believe his ears as he exploded,

"WHAT?!!"

She backed away from him, blindly reaching for the door as she stuttered out,

"I'm moving out. I'm sorry..."

HIs anger was flowing with no end,

"YOU BITCH! I pay for your tuition at school, your food, your clothes, your LIFE, and this is the thanks that I get?"

He advanced so quickly towards her that she had no chance to process his following actions. He swiftly punched her in the face, and she flew to the side, crashing into a nearby wall, causing a few portraits to become crooked. From outside Kyo heard the bang and he rushed inside the house in panic. Once he saw her shoot against the wall in pain, he raced to her side and grabbed her by the shoulders before she could slip to the ground, He shot the dad his nastiest glare and the dad just cocked an eyebrow at him,

"Who the hell are you, and why are you in my house?!"

Kyo growled back with disdain,

"You shut the fuck up you nasty piece of shit. Looking at you makes me wanna puke."

Kyo controlled the urge to throttle the red faced man who was standing in the living room with a shocked expression and without waiting for another second, Kyo carried the unconscious Tohru out of the house, racing away as far as possible from the hellhole.

----------------------------

The bang of the door flying open caused Momiji to jolt backwards, falling to the dusty ground. Everyone else's heads whipped around to see Kyo drenched with sweat and his chest heaving up and down, but most shocking of all, he was carrying an fainted girl in his arms. He shut the door breathlessly with the heel of his foot, and then set her down onto the floor gently, stroking back a few strands of her hair. They all crowded around the unmoving body and Hatori stepped forward, touching her forehead and examining the top of her head with a careful and searching eye,

"It's just a minor concussion, nothing serious."

Kyo let out a sigh of relief and Ayame saw her naked arm, seeing the horrible marks that were permanently left behind. He murmured out loud,

"What terrible scars..."

Momiji crouched down lower and said with a frown,

"Poor girl..."

Haru looked at Tohru and then up at Kyo, asking,

"What happened to her?"

He replied curtly,

"She was abused by her father."

Shigure shook his head in dismay,

"Oh my..."

"Terrible,"

added Ayame who sympathetically nodded along with Shigure. They all let out small gasps when she started to stir, and they leaned in closer to see if she was going to wake up or not. Her eyes slowly fluttered open to see twelve pairs of eyes glued on her, and her face immediately drained of color as she sat up with panic, squeaking out,

"Wh-where am I?!"

Kyo spoke up as softly and calmly as he could,

"It's alright... you'll be okay."

She turned to the soothing voice and felt her chest loosen its knots when she saw Kyo's face,

"Kyo-kun..."

"You're at the place I live now."

Tohru blushed as she looked at the rest of the unfamliar faces, asking nervously,

"Umm... what happened after I passed out?"

"I carried you back here."

Her eyes suddenly widened when the truth of the situation hit her in the head like a rock,

"Wait... but... but where do I go now? My home... I can't go back now..."

"You don't have to."

She looked up at Kyo with saddened eyes and asked desperately,

"But where do I go then?" I-I can't possibly burden you or anyone else with anything."

Everyone turned to Kyo, waiting for his reply and then Hatori pulled Kyo by the collar and literally dragged him into the kitchen, followed by the rest of the gang. Momiji turned his head back and winked at a stunned Tohru, assuring her with a huge smile,

"We'll be right back!"

They shut the wooden door to the kitchen and Haru pointed a finger at Kyo,

"Alright, you explain what the hell happened right now."

Kyo took a deep breath and angrily stated,

"Look, her dad has been abusing her for who knows how long, and I just found out, so I told her to stand up for herself and get out of there... so she did and I brought her here before her dad went crazy on her."

He clenched his fists and continued fiercely,

"But now she's free! She just needs a place to stay."

Haru immediately snapped back,

"You can't tell her to stay here."

Shigure nodded along with Haru and aquiesced,

"I know it's harsh, but letting a girl like her into the life of a bandit? That'd just make things worse... I mean, don't you want her to be happy?"

Kyo stood still for a moment, letting the silence hang in the air. Ayame patted Kyo on the shoulder with his slender fingers and said softly,

"Do what's right..."

Kyo looked up at Ayame and then at everyone else,

"Let her stay at least one night."

Hatori opened the door of the kitchen and said with his back turned to Kyo,

"One night, but that's it."

Kyo stared at his back with a small bit of anguish and pushed past Hatori, and walked over to Tohru, who was still sitting on the ground with her eyes cast downward. He sat down next to her and told her in a throaty voice,

"You can stay one night... and then in the morning I'll help you find another place, I promise."

She looked at him with her large brown eyes and asked,

"Is it really okay? I... don't want to be any troub--"

Kyo held a finger against her soft lips and said,

"You're staying whether you like it or not, so none of your friggin pleading."

Tohru felt a smile slip onto her face and she encircled her arms around him for a quick hug, whispering into his chest,

"Thank you."

**REVIEWS PLEASE :D THANKS !!!**


	8. Here With Me

**THANKS FOR ANY REVIEWS :D :D :D I APPRECIATE THEM VERY MUCH.  
This chapter is short, but bear with it ;D and most importantly, enjoyy! **

**WILTED FLOWER**

**Chapter 8 - Here With Me**

Kyo and Tohru were sitting on the floor of Kyo's small room and the rain was slapping down loudly against the edge of the window panes, along with the occasional clap of thunder that crashed down onto the Earth. Another loud crack of thunder rumbled through the cabin and Tohru jumped back, shivering a tiny bit. Tohru fumbled her thumbs around on her lap nervously and finally said softly under her breath,

"I'm scared Kyo-kun."

Kyo glanced at her with a little eye roll and then said with a mutter,

"It's just thunder. It's not that scary."

Tohru looked up at him with wide eyes that resembled a scared deer for a moment, and stammered out,

"No it's not that...Oh gosh, I'm sorry, I shouldn't be complaining."

She looked downward and tears gradually filled her soft hazel eyes. Once Kyo began to hear her soft sobs, he lowered his head in defeat and said with a terse groan,

"Don't cry...aww, man... now you're really crying. What's wrong? I'll listen..."

She wiped her eyes with the pack of her wrist and squeaked out with a shaky breath,

"I'm sorry... it's just that I'm so scared... scared of what is ahead for me. I have no family... no house... and now I have to work hard for my school tuition. I don't know what I'm going to do next. I'm so sorry to be putting my problems onto you."

"Are you done?"

Tohru nodded quietly and sniffled loudly. He waited a while before dishing out his advice,

"Look, I know this is not much, but I'm gonna be by your side no matter what alright? So stop your crying."

Tohru wiped her eyes again with the back of her hand and smiled shakily,

"T-thank you for saying that. I'm so happy that you're here..."

Kyo stretched out his arms and got up to get a ratty blanket off of the knob of the door. He shook it out and let the dust particles diffuse through the air, causing both of them to cough simultaneously. He then set it down to the ground and lay down on top of it, with his hands placed comfortably behind his head. He closed his eyes and murmured out in a sleepy voice,

"Let's just not think about what will happen tomorrow and concentrate on what's going to happen today, okay? Now get some sleep."

Tohru nodded at him and stood awkwardly in the middle of the room,

"Okay."

She stared down at her socks and asked with a worried tone,

"Is it really alright for you to sleep on the ground? That must be very unhealthy, here, I'll sleep on the ground. I don't mind at all!"

Kyo's eyes opened and he rolled them. He waved his hand up in the air casually,

"No way am I letting you sleep on the ground. You're sleeping on the bed, no matter _what_ you say. So keep quiet."

Tohru pursed her lips together and sighed as she shut the lights without another word of protest. She climbed under the sheets of the bed and whispered out,

"Good night."

Kyo just grunted back in reply and rolled over on the ground, closing his eyes again. Tohru lay in the bed, letting the darkness filter into her eyes while Kyo shuffled around on the floor next to her. She shivered and couldn't help but allow a few silent tears to slip down the sides of her cheeks. She tried her best not to make a sound, but she coudn't help but let out a series of loud sniffles echo through the dark cubicle. She rolled around onto her side so that her back was facing him, shielding her shameful face. She lifted her hands to the edge of her eyes, dabbing constantly at them until her fingertips were lubricated with salty tears. She sniffed one more time before closing her aching eyes, hoping that the tears would stop, but they just continued to stream out of her closed eyelids and down to the tip of her pointed chin. She opened her eyes again and stared into the empty white walls and sniffed audibly again. Staring and staring until her eyes adjusted into the darkness of the night.

Her eyes widened moments later when she felt the edge of the bed lower slightly and someone climb under the sheets next to her. She held her breath when she felt strong arms encircle her petite waist, and she let a small gasp escape from her open mouth. She turned around slowly, her heart beating with celerity when she found herself staring right into Kyo's soft eyes, which were staring straight into hers, piercing her very heart and soul. He lifted his hand with the motion of a feather and placed his burning hand on the side of Tohru's wet face, slowly brushing away some tear stained strands of hair behind her ears, sending tingles up and down her spine. She shivered from his gentle touch and he pulled her in closer towards his body, making her breaths become short and shallow. She could feel his body heat and his breath lightly washing over her skin like a melody, and she could feel her breathing rate and her heart rate going at an abnormal speed when he whispered out to her with sweet tenderness,

"Are you still crying?"

-----

_Oh I am what I am,_

_I'll do what I want_

_But I can't hide._

-----

Tohru's breaths became shudders now as she let out an unintentional sniff before averting her eyes away from his intense stare, looking up at the ceiling now, and replied back in a hoarse whisper,

"No..."

He lifted his hand up again to caress her wet cheeks with his soft calloused thumb and her eyes couldn't help but connect with his once again as he said in a deep and soothing tone,

"Don't pretend."

-------

_I won't go. _

_I won't sleep._

_I can't breathe,_

-------

She closed her eyes slowly and admitted to him softly,

"I wish I could stop crying...I really do."

"...It's gonna be okay, alright? I'm here with you...so... stop worrying."

-------

_until you're resting here with me,_

_and I won't leave, _

_I can't hide,_

-------

She wanted so much to give him a simple thanks but her voice broke up in the middle of her throat, and she found herself breaking down in his arms instead; repeating over and over again in a choked up voice,

"I'm so sorry... I'm so sorry..."

He brushed his index finger lightly upon her lower lip and shushed her softly,

"Shhh...."

He cupped her trembling face into his warm hands and she shut her eyes as he pressed his lips lightly against her quivering lips. A solitary tear slipped down her face as she kissed him back deeply and tenderly, not wanting to let go of the feeling. When they pulled away from each other, gasping for breath, they both stared into each other's glistening eyes, listening to each other's heavy breathing without a word being spoken. Kyo then pulled her head into the small crevice of his right shoulder and she closed her throbbing eyes, feeling, for the first time that day, a genuine smile spread across her cherry red lips.

-------

_I cannot be, _

_until you're resting here with me..._

_**Dido - Here With Me**_

-------

**I love that Dido song, it rocks so much! Well, REVIEWS would be SUPER NICE GUYS!! ;D THANKS.**


	9. Running

**THANKS FOR ALL THE WONDERFUL REVIEWS THAT EVERYONE GAVE. :) HAPPINESS TO EVERYONEEE. WHEE!**

**WILTED FLOWER**

**Chapter 9 - Running**

The scent of fresh flowers filled Kyo's nostrils as he took his first morning breath. He opened up his squinting eyes and rubbed his tired eyes, taking in the fragrance that caused remnants of the night before to enter his foggy mind. He smiled a little from the memories and looked down beside him to see only empty space. Kyo frowned and touched the wrinkled bedsheets, wondering where Tohru had left to. He got up and threw his black sweatshirt over his head before padding down the creaky wooden steps, a new scent rushing through his nose, the scent of sweet green tea leaves. He frowned when he heard the voices of the bandits talking loudly in the kitchen, and he walked cautiously into the kitchen to see them all sitting down at the small round table, while Tohru was serving each of them a hot cup of steaming green tea. Tohru spotted Kyo standing at the doorway with his tousled orange hair and she smiled brightly up at him, setting down another cup in front of Shigure.

"Thank you princess!"

exclaimed Shigure happily as he sniffed up the sweet smell of the tea that was slowly slithering its way up into his nose. She continued to give him that toothy smile, making him blush a tiny bit in the cheeks, and she announced happily,

"Good morning Kyo-kun!"

Kyo stepped into the kitchen with both feet and then walked over to the table, pulling out a wooden stool, plopping down onto it and grunted back in reply to her elated greeting.

"Would you like some tea?"

asked Tohru with a saccharine grin pasted on her perfect pink lips. Kyo bent his head lower, feeling flustered as he muttered out in a low voice,

"Fine.."

Tohru continued to smile as she turned back to the whistling pot, humming a nonexistent tune and preparing another cup for him. He looked at the rest of the people surrounding the table and Momiji suddenly piped up with all smiles,

"Tohru-san makes wonderful tea!"

Momiji proceeded to slurp with exaggeration, announcing with a look of pleasure crossing his overly excited features,

"Mmmm, tastes so good!"

Shigure put his cup down and winked at Kyo subtly before flashing him a cheesy grin,

"You've got a good woman here, better hold onto her."

Kyo's face heated up like a fire and he immediately barked out,

"Shut up!"

"Look at how red he's getting! He's like a lobster!"

cried out Momiji with jubilance as he laughed and pointed at the frustrated boy who was steaming on his chair. Kyo growled dangerously and held up his fist at Momiji, screaming loudly,

"How would you like a fist in your stupid face?!"

"Waaaaaaa... Kyo's being mean..."

Tohru turned around with another steaming cup and placed it right in front of Kyo with a huge smile still plastered on her face, causing half of his anger to float right out of his system as he couldn't help but smile back at her with tight lips. He then glanced at the rest of the group who were now quietly staring intently at the two of them. Kyo cleared his throat loudly a few times to get rid of the tension, and then he glared at the rest of them angrily before sipping the tea loudly.

"Is it good?"

asked Tohru with hope filling her brown eyes. Kyo grunted back in reply again, continuing to sip the tea with loud sloppy slurps to fill in the deepening silence. Tohru looked down at her watch that was wrapped around her thin wrist, and she slapped her forehead lightly, untying the white apron that she had put on before to prepare the tea. She gave them each a wary last smile and put her hand up in a wave,

"I'm sorry guys, but I have to go right now. I have to go to school and then work. Um...I just want to say that I'm very thankful that you guys let me stay here for the night, thank you very much!"

She bowed to them curtly and then rushed out of the front door without another word. It was all silent for a short moment, and then Ayame shot Kyo a chesire grin,

"She's so sweet! Where'd you find her?"

"So is she your girlfriend now?"

asked Shigure with his hands on his chin as he feigned excitement, while batting his eyelashes mockingly at Kyo. Kyo banged his cup down, causing a few droplets of tea to land down onto the wooden surface of the rickety table, and he stuttered out a bit too loudly,

"Wh-what?! No way!"

Momiji giggled and piped up in a sing a song tone,

"She sure looks at you in a lovey dovey way though!"

Ayame nodded with agreement and added,

"Yea, you two are cute together!"

"SHUT UP!"

Ayame puckered up his lips and prodded further with a mischevious grin,

"Oh ho, so then what were you two lovers doing together in the SAME ROOM?"

Hatori raised his hands up in midair and closed his eyes calmly,

"Alright, alright, let's not go into detail... but all I have to ask is, are you going to be able to keep a relationship with this girl?"

"I... told you, I don't like her in that way."

Hatori opened his eyes and looked straight at Kyo suspiciously,

"Really, then you wouldn't care if we all moved into another city... like Tokyo or something?"

"I..."

"Would you?"

The rest stared silently at the two and waited for Kyo's reply. Kyo's fists were balled up underneath the table and he said through gritted teeth,

"I... don't...care."

Momiji declared with his fists pumped into the air,

"He cares! He cares!"

Kyo stood up from his spot, yelling back with denial,

"NO!"

Hatori leaned back in his chair and said with a small shrug,

"So then let's move tonight."

Kyo's head whipped around quickly to face Hatori, his eyes burning with fury as he asked with a crestfallen expression,

"Wait... why the hell are we moving?!"

Hatori shrugged again and stated simply,

"New terrain to pilfer stuff from, this place is getting dull isn't it? It's about time we got the hell outta this town."

Kyo argued back strongly,

"There's plenty of houses here that we haven't gotten to yet!"

"No good ones."

_Just tell him... tell him the truth!_

Kyo backed up to the entrance of the kitchen and eyed Hatori with shaking eyes,

"I... I can't do this anymore..."

Momiji asked with confusion,

"So you admit that you love her?"

Kyo glared at Momiji with so much rage that Momiji cringed backwards a bit from his look,

"No!"

His voice lowered as he confessed shakily,

"I can't go on with this stealing business anymore."

Haru spoke up for the first time that day and muttered out,

"I knew you'd grown soft..."

Kyo looked up at the rest of them and said,

"Look, can't we all go out and find _real_ jobs and stop this charade of stealing other people's valuables? This is not who we're all meant to be..."

Hatori stood up from the table, planting his hands firmly down on top of the table, yelling out with genuine anger,

"Save the lecture! We don't need it! So you've been with this girl for what, a few weeks and now you decide to back out on us? People you've beein with your whole damn _life?_ We picked you off the streets and made you a man!"

Kyo swallowed hard and looked away from the rest of the group as he uttered out guiltily,

"This is not the man that I want to be...I don't want to live as a criminal anymore... I want to be someone that can do something more meaningful with his life."

"So you're saying that you don't want to be a part of the gang anymore?"

Momiji stared down at the table sadly and whispered out dolefuly,

"Kyo..."

Kyo shook his head,

"No... that's not what I'm saying... I just don't want to go on living like this, why can't we all change?"

Shigure spoke up angrily,

"You're so _selfish_, only _you_ want this change, and so you think that you can just go around preaching and thinking that we'll all change along with you just because _you_ want to? Why don't you grow up?!"

Kyo was shaking with fury as he punched the wall nearby, causing all the furniture to rumble apprehensively,

"Dammit! Don't you guys have futures that you want to live out?!"

Hatori's chair scraped back as he stood up from his chair, banging his fist down on top the table as well, causing the cups to all tremble as he screamed out with fierce eyes,

"SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP! Just get _out!!_"

The rest of the group just stared with wide eyes, so shocked to see Hatori shed some real emotion. Kyo's heart skipped a beat as his throat tightened along with his chest,

"Wh-what?"

"I SAID GET OUT!"

Heavy breathing was the only noise that was left as Kyo turned his heel and rushed out of the open front door. Running... once again.

**PLEASE REVIEWWWW! :) More reviews then more chapters, heh, good plan I must say ;D THANKS THANKS**


	10. Old Home

_**HEY ALL YOU LOVELY PEOPLE. ENJOY EL NEW CHAPTER:D :D :D :D **_

_**RECAP from the last chapter...**_

_Kyo was shaking with fury as he punched the wall nearby, causing all the furniture to rumble apprehensively,_

_"Dammit! Don't you guys have futures that you want to live out!"_

_Hatori's chair scraped back as he stood up from his chair, banging his fist down on top the table as well, causing the cups to all tremble as he screamed out with fierce eyes,_

_"SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP! Just get out!"_

_The rest of the group just stared with wide eyes, so shocked to see Hatori shed some real emotion. Kyo's heart skipped a beat as his throat tightened along with his chest,_

_"Wh-what?"_

_"I SAID GET OUT!"_

_Heavy breathing was the only noise that was left as Kyo turned his heel and rushed out of the open front door. Running... once again._

**COMPLETE**

**Chapter 10 - Old Home**

"Who's that guy?"

"His hair is outrageous!"

"But... he's kind of cute isn't he?"

"Yea, yea, he's got that whole broody thing down pat."

Kyo rolled his eyes as he overheard the loud whispers of the giggly girls that were standing at the entrance of Kaibara High. He glanced over at the door for the fifth time and when he finally saw students start to pour out of the huge double doors, he felt himself sigh with relief and cross his arms cooly over his chest as the wind tousled his messy orange hair. He swiftly glanced to his side and his eye caught onto the familiar chestnut brown hair swaying in the breeze. He pushed himself off from the ledge and pushed through innocent bystanders, grabbing her gently by the shoulder. Tohru yelped shortly and whirled around to see Kyo's face a few inches away from her. Her cheeks blazed as she squeaked out in a high pitched voice,

"H-hey!"

When she saw his sullen look, she inquired,

"Are you okay?"

Kyo led her towards the empty brick wall, and heaved a sigh as he looked up at the fluttering leaves,

"I left them."

Tohru felt a lump form in her throat as she asked softly,

"What... happened?"

"I told them the truth, and they just... turned their backs on me."

His exterior looked so calm and in control, but one look in his eyes and she could see all the fear that was swimming dangerously in his eyes.

"How are you feeling?"

He shot his head up and grunted out,

"Fine."

_If you have doubts... you can tell me._

"You...dont have to hide your fears with me."

She lightly placed her hand on his tense arm and continued,

"I want to hear your doubts... your fears, so we can share them together."

His eyes softened completely and he felt his body relax as he placed his larger hand over hers, shooting her a warm smile,

_When you say things like that... it comforts me, and when you smile, it lifts the huge weight that hangs in my heavy heart. I don't know how you do it._

"Let's... go find a home."

He took her hand into his and together they walked off down the sidewalk, ready to go through life together without family, nor a home.

"You're hired!"

Kyo's eyebrows raised and his frown dug deeper into his face as he asked incredulously,

"Really?"

"Don't look so stricken, we were desperate for a new worker, so here's your apron."

The man with the round belly and leaf green apron tossed the same apron that he was wearing into Kyo's open arms. He then led him behind the counter and explained him the instructions of how to work the cash register and the other deli regulations before leaving Kyo alone.

_Wow... workin' at a deli... is that any better of a life?_

He groaned and placed his elbows down on top of the plastic counter, trying to get his head to stop pounding with stressful thoughts. When his shift was finally over he threw off his apron with disdain and shoved it into the metal gray lockers, pushing his way out of the suffocating small deli and breathing in the new fresher air where he met Tohru across the street. She had a small smile pasted on her cherry lips, even though there was so much trouble stirring up in her mind she somehow was able to keep that wonderful smile on her lips.

_How does she do it?_

He shot her a half hearted smile to let her know that he was okay and then pushed a tired hand through his messy flaming hair, asking dully,

"So where do we go now?"

Tohru grabbed him by the wrist and led him down the sidewalk, exclaiming with excitement,

"I have the perfect place!"

Kyo let himself be lightly dragged along the road, feeling extremely confused by her spontaneous behavior,

"Where are you heading?"

She kept on walking in silence and then stopped on top of the familiar fresh mown grass, smiling up at him,

"The orphanage..."

Kyo dropped her hand and stared up at the old building that bought back all kinds of memories. He clenched his teeth down, and before a thought could register, Ktisune appeared, wearing a nice powder blue skirt and a cotton white shirt, with grass stains on the front. She strolled over to them and smiled warmly at the both of them with her kind face and nodded at Tohru, greeting her with a nurturing voice,

"Oh hello Tohru-chan!"

She then glanced over at Kyo who stood frozen next to her, as if not moving would make him somehow invisible to her eyes. Kitsune kept the warmth dancing in her eyes as she let her smile spread further, asking,

"Oh, and who is this young man?"

Kyo cleared his throat several times and looked away, first at his shoes and then at a tree behind Kitsune, answering in a mutter,

"Uh... Kyo."

He looked up at her cautiously, waiting for her to lecture him about the past, but he was surprised to see that her smile was still the same, open and welcoming. She reached up and patted him on the shoulder gently,

"Nice to meet you Kyo."

She smiled again and then looked at the both of them, asking,

"So what can I do for the two of you?"

Tohru glanced at Kyo for a second and then back at Kitsune with a nervous smile on her worried face,

"Um... well... it's very hard to ask, but do you think... um do you think..."

Kyo could tell she was having a difficult time trying to utter out the request, so he wrapped up her sentence for her as professionally and politely as he best could,

"Do you think we could stay here for a few nights until we can find a real place? We ... have no where else to go."

Tohru nodded very quietly and added with a whisper,

"I'm so sorry Kitsune-san..."

Kitsune laughed at the two of them and waved her hand in the air,

"You two are way too polite. Of course you can stay! I would never say no..."

Tohru's eyes grew large and she jumped up in the air with joy, squealing out,

"Kitsune-san! Thank you so much! I owe you so much, I will do all the chores! I will take care of all the kids! I just want to thank you so so much!"

Kitsune laughed again and then gave them both a welcoming smile as she told them,

"You don't have to repay me in any way. I enjoy your company... both of you. Here, let me show you guys where to put your things."

Tohru shot Kyo a secret smile and he smirked back at her with dancing eyes.

**Short chapter, I know... and I know it's been a long time since I updated :sigh: it's just that there's so much school crap and yadda yadda yadda... wellps at least I updated :D :D WAAAHOOOO! alrighteys, well thanks so much to the people that took the time to review... L FOR LOVE! **

**Okay. bye now... and I'll _try_ to finish up Complete... but I just don't feel the inspiration, you know what I mean? Ahh. okay . well . REVIEWS PLEASE! Thank ya :P**


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